thethe languagelanguage teacherteacher
ISSN 0289-7938 ¥950
Your Opinions & Perspectives: 3 What Is The Language Teacher?
Looking Back: The History of TLT 7 Larry Cisar
Introducing the Writer’s Peer Support Group 9 Andy Barfield
So . . . You Want to Be a TLT Special Issue Editor? 11 Katharine Isbell, Julie Sagliano, Mike Sagliano, & Tim Stewart
Getting Published: An Overview of JALT Publications 13 Malcolm Swanson
A Month in the Life of TLT 17 A “Chapter in Your Life” Special Report Joyce Cunningham & Miyao Mariko 4 April, 2000 Volume 24, Number 4 全国語学教育学会 The Japan Association for Language Teaching contents AT THE JALT99 CONFERENCE in Maebashi, a friend and I were discussing the negative reactions a few participants were openly expressing about the time they were having there. Groaning, he 1 introduction said, “You know, you don’t go to a party, then complain later about the good time you didn’t have. Why should a conference features be any different? It’s only what we make it—it is OUR confer- 3 TLT Survey ence!” Sage words, I thought, and they came to mind as we put this TLT focus issue together. 7 TLT History 9 Peer Support Group So, why do an introspective issue? At the risk of “navel gazing,” as one ex-editor put it, we felt that devoting one issue to “what is 11 Special Issue Editing TLT?” would give our readers more of a feel for what actually takes 13 Getting Published place between the covers of the world’s only monthly, all volun- teer-run, language teaching publication! More importantly, we a publication in your life wanted to show that TLT is very much the members’ publication, 17 A Month in the Life of TLT and that the only limits on what can take place on the pages we print are the amounts of input, energy, material, and creativity we my share receive from our readers. To carry my friend’s analogy further, this 21 Pass It Around publication is every readers’ “party,” so if we are not “having fun,” 22 Teaching Culture perhaps we need to ask ourselves what we can do to make it better! departments And what can you do? Firstly, let us know openly what you’d like to see in TLT. Last year, a number of our readers did just that by 24 Book Reviews taking part in a readership survey, with the results reported in this 26 JALT News month’s Opinions & Perspectives column. Secondly, submit your 27 JALT2000 own material for publication, and there’s an article on JALT Publi- cations inside that will tell you how. Finally, join the TLT team 28 Bulletin Board and assist us with what we do. If you’re interested, contact either 28 SIG News myself or Paul Lewis (see the staff list on page 37 for contact de- 30 Chapter Reports tails). 32 Chapter Meetings Other features in this issue include a review of the history of TLT 35 Conference Calendar by one of JALT’s “institutional memories,” Larry Cisar. There’s also an overview of our Peer Support Group—an exciting project in col- 12 Advertiser Index laborative editing that we’ve begun, a report on the experiences of 36 JIC a group who edited one of our special issues, an inside look at the 38 Submissions monthly workings of TLT, plus much more. And if reading this issue motivates you to put finger to keyboard, then we look 39 Staff List forward to hearing from you. 40 About JALT Lastly, I’d like to offer a farewell to two familiar faces. Bill Lee is unfortunately finishing his term as Editor. Bill guided TLT through some of its rockiest moments during the 1999 fiscal crunch, and we’ll miss his steady hand at the helm. Also, after developing it to being one of TLT’s most widely read features, the editor of our popular My Share column, Sandra Smith, is moving on. We wish them both well, and thank them for their work with us (welcome to Sandra’s replacement, Scott Gardner, who has risen through the ranks to this new position). On a personal note, I’d also like to ex- press my sincere appreciation and gratitude to all the current staff of TLT, whose patience and professionalism have made my transi- tion to the editor’s chair a relatively painless one. Happy reading! Malcolm Swanson JALT2000 TLT Editor November 2-5 Oh, by the way, if you were looking for the Submissions Guide and Staff List, you’ll now find them at the back, along with information on joining JALT. Granship Shizuoka
April 2000 1 2 The Language Teacher 24:4 Your Opinions & Perspectives What is The Language Teacher?
TLT Readership Survey Results and Analysis
In late 1999, JALT’s monthly publication, The Language Teacher, conducted an online survey to better understand the needs and hopes of its readership. This survey is still available online, and we welcome further comment (it can be found at http://www.seafolk. ne.jp/kqjalt/tlt/ tlt_survey.html). Following is a breakdown of the feedback we received from almost 40 of our readers up to the end of November 1999, along with comments from our TLT perspective. Many thanks to all those who took the time to provide us with this valuable feedback. The full text of all the responses received is also at the same URL.
The Responses some of my needs but I prefer more and more SIG Most/Least Read: clear winners for most widely read newsletters for their teachers’ voices.” sections were: English Feature Articles, My Share Col- “I think the greatest problem is this feeling of umn, and the contents page. Most other sections academic and yet not academic and trying to appeal to scored very similarly. For the question “What sections all groups in JALT. Maybe it would help the JJ if TLT of TLT do you never read?” no particular section switched to a less academic style, and asked for shorter scored noticeably differently from the others. Indi- pieces (max 1500 words?).” vidual responses were quite different for both ques- “The TLT is the cornerstone of my JALT member- tions. However, it is clear that, overall, TLT is read in ship. It is an amazing feat to produce 12 quality issues a fairly balanced manner. per year. That is something that NO OTHER organiza- The next section was a series of statements, each tion in the world is doing.” with a scaled response, plus a comment box. Below are “JALT needs this TLT publication. As a JALT member the statements, the response scores, and a selection of who wants JALT to have a professional profile, TLT is the comments. vital, and so is JALT Journal.” “Valuable? Well, occasionally useful, I’d say.” a) TLT meets my needs as a JALT member; it is a “No. I feel that it could be doing a lot more than it valuable part of my membership. does and it would be nice if the TLT kept the entire JALT membership in mind, not just those at the Responses: tertiary and some at the secondary level in mind!!!” Strongly Agree 7 Agree 11 No Opinion 2 “It certainly used to be, but in the past couple of Disagree 3 Strongly Disagree 0 years, the articles seem to be heading towards themes which are more ideological and less educational in Comments: value.” “From my viewpoint, JALT usefully consists of TLT, “As an AM I feel that more should be done to attract the JJ [JALT Journal], the yearly conference, and the readers. TLT is a good voice of JALT, but I would be bookkeeping aspects of the central office.” much happier if it were a quarterly and had higher “TLT is stuck between being semi-academic, newsy submission standards” and academic, and it ends up being institutionalised. “Good when wanting background but not so prac- It’s lost the voice of the average teacher, and person- tical for JHS/ES on a regular basis.” ally I find it increasingly boring to read and look at, “The quality, especially the practicality of the ar- though when I read it, I enjoy some of it. It does serve ticles has gone down in recent years.”
April 2000 3 Feature: Readership Survey b) TLT should focus more on being a research journal place. I think that information gets lost in the TLT. I by publishing more feature articles. think that the April Supplement is the best thing that JALT puts out.” Responses: “I’d like TLT to expand, not to get smaller, and not Strongly Agree 4 Agree 6 No Opinion 2 to be combined into double issues. I think one of TLT’s Disagree 7 Strongly Disagree 4 functions should be to make JALT a lot more transpar- ent by telling the ordinary JALT membership what’s Comments: going on with JALT, what’s under consideration, what “The JALT Journal is the research journal, TLT should decisions are being made, why, and so on.” focus on news and things that are more classroom “TLT should be more along those lines (of IATEFL’s oriented.” newsletter) in design and have some zappy pieces in it, “I have seen bad research in the TLT and that as well as longer more considered articles. The heavy bothers me a lot. I don’t want to see big statistical stuff should come later in the TLT, though, and as you articles as in TESOL Quarterly (isn’t that JALT Journal’s open the pages of the TLT, you want a feeling of job?), but it would be nice to see a little more action WOW! WOW! WOW!” research.” “Maybe more news (what SIGs and chapters are “Agree, yes, but with a wider variety—a lot of the doing to make JALT grow and be vital) but definitely articles seem to be by the same people: a recent issue not more organization news (since it seems to consist even contained more than one article by the same of a lot of turf warfare). We can get enough of that on person.” the email lists.” “What do you mean by research? If you mean action “The 2 month lead makes news a bit of a misnomer.” research and teacher research, reflections on the class- “Agree with the statement, but feel that the TLT room, lively pace and enthusiasm, then I strongly does a good job of this now. Perhaps the SIG and agree. I think this is really important. Teachers want to Chapter columns could be presented in a different way enthuse about teaching and learning.” to collectively present information, a tabled calendar “It’s difficult to do a good research article in 3,000 and then contact information. A table version of a SIG/ words. I would also hate to see the practical applica- Chapter Calendar would be very helpful and far more tions aspect of TLT be sacrificed. TLT is not JALT practical.” Journal. Having said that, it would be good to see more “I think there is a fairly good balance of this material of the research-oriented articles. . .” now.” “The quality of research, as well as the focus of “Certainly there needs to be a page devoted to research, is often of such dubious value that the more- educational policy issues as they affect ELT in Japan.” free-range editorial approach of TLT is my prefer- ence.” d) TLT should focus on building its on-line presence, “I don’t think the quality of submissions is high e.g. online databases, e-zine type publications, etc. enough to be a real research journal. Also I think it meets the needs of the JALT public by addressing more Responses: practical concerns.” Strongly Agree 4 Agree 12 No Opinion 3 “Quite the opposite—the main reason many articles Disagree 2 Strongly Disagree 0 are not useful is that they are written by individuals trying to do research to move up the teaching ladder Comments: and not out of pure interest in helping students to “Somebody else should do that in tandem with the learn which should be the focus.” print version.” “It should focus on what the teacher can take into “Yes, absolutely, but we should not do it at the the classroom tomorrow. The Journal is for research.” expense of the basic TLT, at least not until more members are on line.” c) TLT needs to provide members with more news and “Definitely. Especially the newsletter (JALT news) organisational information. aspect of the TLT.” “No, TLT’s one of the things I really like to hold in Responses: my hand, browse through and read.” Strongly Agree 2 Agree 8 No Opinion 7 “Yes, yes, yes. Just ask the Internet TESL Journal how Disagree 5 Strongly Disagree 0 many thousands of hits they get per day.” “Databases and e-zines are the trend of the future. A Comments: paper journal should be maintained for those in academia “I think that it is doing a good job now, so ‘more’ is who will not accept e-zine publications as valid.” not really the question.” “Make the print version a quarterly and use the “JALT needs to do a better job of informing its Internet to keep the organization current.” members but I don’t think that the TLT is the right “Why should it do that?”
4 The Language Teacher 24:4 Feature: Readership Survey e) Once a month is too much—less frequently would “The focus should be on news and articles with be better. practical information about teaching (theoretical and research articles should be for the JJ). I would appreci- Responses: ate more space being devoted to “the Calendar”. Strongly Agree 2 Agree 1 No Opinion 2 Information about conferences, training, and such is Disagree 12 Strongly Disagree 5 hard to come by.” “I would REALLY LIKE to see matters of importance Comments: within JALT in there. It would be nice if TLT served to “People need to be reminded that they are members tell people what’s actually going on in JALT and why.” of JALT. A frequent tangible thing like TLT is neces- “Continued excellence 12 times a year both hard sary.” copy and on-line.” “TLT is JALT’s life blood. An interruption in the flow “I think the current course (ignoring, of course, the may cause a stroke or even paralysis of the organiza- recent development to cut issues to save money) is tion.” heading in the right direction. “Strongly agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” “A newsy magazine for the common reader in the “If not once a month, where are members going to field.” get the information and updates about JALT, news, “More applied teaching ideas/articles as presented events, etc. Not all the world uses email, yet.” in the My Share section would be good. More informa- “If we got something bigger 4 times a year, that tion on what different chapters are doing . . .” would be OK. However, what would we do about the “Take up with issues in the profession, such as: job newsletter function of TLT.” insecurity—the backbone of foreign language educa- tion in Japan.” Following this, we asked for comments on the layout “We need to figure out ways to get people outside and design of TLT. Here is a sample of what the the normal channels to participate.” respondents had to say: “TLT should probably be a little more diverse and be “I liked it better before the recent cost cutting changes.” not only a venue for foreign college teachers to publish “Well of course there isn’t enough white space but articles, but also a resource for new teachers coming you work around that pretty well. I can always find into Japan.” what I need in an issue, but nothing ever jumps out at “I think all articles in TLT should be in English. me. For the most part it is easy to read and I like it.” English should be the lingua franca of JALT.” “I like the contents on the cover. I hate (I really mean “When I first joined JALT, 5 years ago, I found TLT this) the new JENL-like cover. Right or wrong, appear- very useful and interesting. Gradually, it seemed to ances are important. Although there loose whatever it had had. Look- has been no sacrifice in quality be- ing back now, I thought perhaps I tween the covers, people are still had just outgrown it. But a look influenced by these cosmetic back at the first year or two con- changes. At a time when IATEFL is firms that it was a lot better back making their publications look even then.” more spiffy this is not the time to “With the focus of English edu- start looking like the poor cousin.” cation changing in Japan, rather “I don’t like how articles are con- than remain stuck in the mud, TLT tinued onto remote areas of the could take on a fresh look, open magazine.” itself to all members of JALT, pre- “Hate article continued on page kindergarten through to tertiary so-n-so.” and also laterally, home schools, “As good as can be for the price jukus, institutes. If our main repre- and payment!” sentative publication does not rep- “It is easy to find contents listed resent the full cross-sections of explicitly on the cover and the de- JALT, how are we to offer JALT to partments no longer require a secret decoder ring to prospective members and make JALT appealing to the understand.” widest possible audience?” “Get rid of the stuff on the first few pages—guide- lines etc. That should go in the back. Should open up The Editor Replies: to the feature article and go from there.” Well, if you’ve got this far, you will be sensing some- thing of the dilemma that faces us as we try to create a Finally, we look at the future directions respondents publication that meets the needs of you, our readers. would like to see TLT heading in. Here are some of the What exactly are your needs? Unfortunately, there is no suggestions and comments offered: neat little answer to this; no tidy bundle we can wrap up
April 2000 5 Feature: Readership Survey each month and send out to our very satisfied readers, manuscripts and ideas from every level and interest because every one of you has an entirely different group in the language education field. expectation of TLT. However, having said that, there are Another message from the survey was that TLT is general areas of agreement that help guide us, plus a few not JALT Journal, so shouldn’t be running similar misconceptions I hope to clear up here. material. There is no real surprise there, but the fact As the responses illustrated, our readers do feel that that this is generally understood allows us to define TLT is a valuable part of their membership or subscrip- the material we seek for publication more accurately. tion, and if you’ve been following any of the debates As has been the move in recent years, we will be trying on the various mailing lists over the past year, you’ll to focus on running articles that have more of a know this is a widely held conviction. It is also gener- pedagogic flavour: classroom reflections, action re- ally felt that it should continue to be published search reports, peer-model profiles, and the like. We monthly, and that, even though TLT’s online pres- are encouraging more freedom in length as well. If ence should be developed, people still like paper in something can be written in 1,000 words, why use their hands. However, there is also a perception (ad- 3,000? We want more articles in each TLT, with greater mittedly from the few who openly express it) that TLT variety in the type of material published, and we are is not fully meeting the needs of its readers. dedicated to encouraging new writers. It’s impossible So, what can we do? How can we make the reader for us to please every reader, every time (though we do experience a better one? Some ideas follow about try), but we sincerely hope to give all readers some- steps we intend to take, though a solely TLT-initiated thing of interest in every issue. If we don’t, let us know. reformation is probably a misguided approach. Riding Better yet, please have a go at writing material yourself! the current wave of learner autonomy, we should be In terms of layout, you’ll already be noticing some putting some of the responsibility for the life of the changes trickling in, with many being in response to publication back onto our readership. The Peer Sup- feedback from the survey. We’ve put the submission port Group described later in this issue is a step in that and personnel information in the back for easy refer- direction. ence, we’ll aim to keep articles intact, and we’re TLT cannot survive without input and material hoping to stretch our legs a bit as we slough off the from outside—the most obvious source being our financial shackles of 1999, allowing a bit of breathing many readers—and this brings us to a large problem space back into the pages. The cover has a new look, we face every month. I well remember sitting in on a and tee-shirts sporting our new logo will be on sale discussion between a previous editor and a reader who soon . . . maybe! Look for more changes in coming was bemoaning the fact that SIGs and non-university issues. educators have no outlet for material in TLT, and that I’d like to close this column by reiterating what has TLT is only interested in focusing on material related been said before in this issue. If you have ideas and to the tertiary level. This is a common misconception, suggestions for improving our publication, we want and an easily made one, as a quick glance through back to hear them. If you have material you want to issues will show. The reality is that, apart from material submit—even unconventional ideas—please forward we successfully solicit, we can only publish what we them to us for consideration. And, if you would like receive. As most of what we receive is from the tertiary to help out the rest of our volunteer team who quietly field, this leads to a natural imbalance. For the record, and efficiently put The Language Teacher in your TLT is VERY interested in publishing material related letter-boxes each month, please contact any member to EVERY area of language learning and teaching! We of the editorial staff. sincerely hope that potential writers take advantage of Malcolm Swanson this openness, and look forward to receiving a flood of TLT Editor
Make sure The Language Teacher moves with you. A Language Send the following information to the JALT Central Office, Urban Teacher Edge Building, 5th Floor, 1-37-9 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016 tel: 03-3837-1630; fax: 03-3837-1631; [email protected]
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6 The Language Teacher 24:4 Looking Back:
The History of TLT Larry Cisar
hat do The Language Teacher, the KALT into a magazine with newsletter sections. To reflect Newsletter (Kansai), the KALT Newsletter this change, the name was altered in April, 1984 to W (Kanto), and the JALT Newsletter have in The Language Teacher. The current name has already common? They are all the same thing (or closely had a sixteen year run; any guesses as to how many related). And the middle two are older than JALT! The more years it will be thus? KALT Newsletter (Kansai) began in 1976 as the news- At first glance, the numbering of issues in some letter of the Kansai Association of Language Teachers. volumes was very strange, with no issue 6 and either When some former members began an association in no issue 13 or issue 13 appears to be the last issue. Nagoya (Tokai ALT) and Tokyo (Kanto ALT), the Why? For a time in the 80s, JALT numbered the JALT newsletter traveled with them. Nancy Nakanishi- Journal as an issue of The Language Teacher. This was Hilderbrandt, the first editor, carefully gathered ma- done in the belief that it was necessary to keep the terial that would allow teachers in Japan to keep up cheap postal rates for the Journal. The Journal also kept with what was happening in the world of language its own numbering system. Later, the Publications education. This publication name lasted through Board found out that it was not necessary to do that, 1978. so we now have 12 sequentially ordered TLTs. David Bycina, one of the founders of the Kanto Cut-n-paste has always been the way The Language group, was sure that there was enough information to Teacher has been assembled. But, while the current have, not a quarterly, but a monthly publication. The versions are done electronically, the early editions fledging national organization was not sure, so David were done with paper, scissors, and the glue pot. In proved his point by producing 12 issues of the Kanto the early days, the articles were typed by people on a newsletter. David was elected editor (yes, JALT elected variety of typewriters, giving some editions a very editors in the beginning), the name JALT Newsletter hodge-podge look. JALT first consolidated the pro- was chosen, and from Volume 3 through the begin- cess by buying a Silver Reed ball typewriter (and if you ning of Volume 8, JALT had a monthly newsletter think JALT fights over money now, you should have under that name. heard the arguments about purchasing that type- As with all good things, the monthly publication writer). It is surprising that there were so few mistakes did not stop evolving and growing (or going through in the early editions, since none of the people work- all the usual growing pains). The Executive Commit- ing on it were professional typists. (Well, almost tee and the Publications Board found that JALT was none. Sanae Matsumoto was a professional secretary, no longer putting out just a newsletter. It had evolved but she was not a member of JALT—just helped David
April 2000 7 Feature: Cisar do all the work.) tion, JALT negotiated to have the printer prepare the Japanese came into the newsletter a few years later, publication for mailing and take it to the post office. as typing in Japanese was not an easy task. The first This system continues until today. article in Japanese was by Kenji Kitao, and was a JALT owes its cheap postal rates to the work of Kohei report on the TESOL Convention in 1982. Since then, Takubo, an early National Public Relations Chair, who Japanese articles have appeared in most issues, with went through the process of getting the postal frank one issue, July of 1988, being mainly in Japanese. for JALT. JALT has been lucky to keep this privilege to Kenji, who was later promoted by JALT to Vice Presi- mail third class over the years. When the Post Office dent, did much to expand the use of Japanese within came out with an even cheaper way to mail the JALT publications. The largest work was a special issue publication, the Central Office staff did the work to of The Language Teacher, edited by a team headed by make sure that the membership benefited from it. Kenji, to celebrate 10 years of JALT. The title is TEFL JALT has worn out several printers. Only with in Japan. This work, mainly in Japanese, dealt with the volume 4 did JALT start to acknowledge who was status and style of TEFL in Japan as JALT celebrated its printing the publication—done to protect the guilty. tenth year. Masayo Yamamoto followed up on Kenji’s For many years, S.U. Press in Kobe printed the news- early work and was the Japanese editor for all JALT letter. JALT has had a long relationship with the publications for a good period of time. Subsequent current printer, Koshinsha in Osaka. Japanese editors have continued and expanded the The modern history is covered by others in this use of Japanese in JALT publications. issue; the future history is left to those who will be Two editors of JALT’s premiere publication have writing, editing, and proofing it. As the profession gone on to become presidents of JALT. Deborah has grown over the last 24 years, and as it has become Takano-Foreman went directly from being editor to more professional, so have the JALT publications. But being President, while Gene van Troyer went from I do miss the humor that was often there. I will end editor to Publications Board Chair to president. Most with a quote from “From the Devil’s Dictionary,” by editors have retired simply from exhaustion. Editors Tom McArthur: “Basilect: An acrolect with no ambi- have come from a variety of places within JALT: tion.” (The Language Teacher, Volume 12, Issue 5, p. Chapter Officer, SIG officer, or just having experience 31). Now can somebody tell me what it means? outside of JALT. Most have worked their way up through the ranks in JALT publications. Getting the publication to the membership has also gone through a variety of changes. Originally, Larry Cisar teaches at the editor mailed out each copy (which could be why Kanto Gakuen University. Nancy really was not interested in doing a monthly He has been active in JALT publication). When David Bycina became editor, the since its early days. Cur- author of this article became distributor, which meant rently he is working on putting the labels on each wrapped issue, taking them writing Internet material to the post office, and negotiating the final bill. After using Hot Potatoes. exhausting Doug Tomlinson in the distributor’s posi-
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8 The Language Teacher 24:4 Introducing the Writers’ Peer Support Group
Andy Barfield*
very writer is an island? Perhaps. For sure, writ- its members will partner you on your writing. ing with a reader who gives responses to your The next stage is for the peer responders to place Ewriting can be more motivating than writing their responses in the attached file, and send them solo, as the following reaction from a writer shows: back to you. You then have the chance to read their comments, and see some different points and inter- Jim: I was expecting some quick thoughts. This was pretations that your readers have raised. much more in depth than I had imagined.... Since I hadn’t heard back and didn’t know how the Wilma: I was quite impressed with his interest and piece was being read, I was re-writing the piece enthusiasm for my article. He pointed out ideas that blindly, but many of the changes are in accord he liked or agreed with, as well as points to clarify with the comments. and strengthen. His well-thought-out comments and questions Helping writ- are allowing me ers beyond that The Language Teacher currently has two editorial bodies in place for reviewing material for possible publication. The Peer Support Group to take a step isolation and back from the ar- collaborating (PSG), described in this article, is a recent creation, and we wish to thank Andy Barfield for his vision and energy in assisting its ticle and look at with writers as development. The Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) is the more formal it from another, they develop avenue for manuscript vetting. Manuscripts are subject to blind more objective, their texts are review by two board members, and their recommendations passed on to perspective. I’m two modest aims both the writer and TLT Editor. We deeply appreciate the work of this finding this very of The Language volunteer group in assisting TLT with article selection. TLT is valuable as I con- always on the lookout for new members for both the EAB and the PSG. Teacher Peer tinue the editing Support Group. Persons interested in assisting either body with reviewing manuscripts should contact the Editor. and rewriting The group has process. I feel come together fortunate that I informally as a network of colleagues interested in submitted this article when I did, and so have been giving peer responses to writers who would like to try able to take advantage of the Peer Support Group and get their articles published in The Language Teacher. system. This network started up in November 1999, and has been collaborating with just a couple of writers so far. Jim: The kinds of comments I found most useful were those that helped me to organize my think- The process of peer support ing about the topic I was writing about, or gave The process goes like this: If you are interested in input about solidifying the layout or presentation benefiting from some peer reader responses on different of the paper. Reminders regarding appropriate drafts of a work in progress, you can contact the Peer focus on audience were also useful to me, if couched Support Group. (See the contact information at the end of in a sensitive way. this column.) You then forward your text in progress as Over several writer-responder exchanges, the process an RTF attachment, and the PSG decides which two of continues until you are satisfied with your final text.
*Author’s note: This text is the collaborative reading and writing of Andy Barfield, Jim Goddard, Wayne Johnson, Wilma Luth, Jill Robbins, Sandra Smith, Craig Sower, and Malcolm Swanson.
April 2000 9 Feature: Barfield
Sample peer responses stated if the writer believes in them—i.e., remove What kind of peer response might a writer get? This the ‘perhaps’. varies according to the nature of the writer’s text and needs, as well as the responder’s style. However, in the We are learning as we go, and make no claims to set-up period, the team has also been trying to estab- perfection. However, we do strive to set the writer- lish, in collaboration with the first writers, a set of core reader relationship on an equal footing. principles by which to work. Here are some sample responses, before we look at the principles that we are Developing a set of working principles still developing. What, then, are the basic working principles that we have been developing? The first working principle is Becoming clearer about content that the peer responder should frame points and sugges- tions in a manner that enhances, rather than threatens, This is a big leap for me here. It may be useful for the writer’s confidence. The second principle is that you to place some type of sub-headings in here. specific peer responses are more powerful than generalised comments for helping a writer re-think. Becoming more specific: Reader comments need to speak to a particular part of ‘Things’ is a little vague. Do you mean techniques, the text, in other words. Having focussed on specific methods or activities? details of the text, the reader should consider the overall development of the discourse in order to avoid unnec- Judging the need for explicit specialized knowledge: essary nitpicking comments. That is the third working principle; it entails, for example, that the peer respond- I like this intro, but some readers may not be aware ers give pride of place to comments about content and of what a “pidgin” is. You may want to define it organisation rather than trivial points of language or and pidginization briefly here—Richards’ dictio- argument. The final working principle is this: Each nary of applied linguistics has some nice examples. writer lets the peer responders know which comments have or have not worked for them, and why. In this way, Questioning the sense of audience: we hope to make the writer-reader collaboration open, Writer: I have a question regarding the audience for collegial and developmental for both sides. the article. I’m kind of having a tough time feeling my way around this point. My feeling was that the The clarity of experience and the experience of program in itself is rather interesting, but maybe clarity that’s just because I was involved with it. Much has been written about peer responding, yet it remains, in our experience, a relatively limited feature Reader: To me the key point is that fascination and of professional discourse in the increasingly “publish your own interest . . . or perish” world of foreign language teaching and Writer: Do you have any further suggestions about research. This pressure may have unforeseen conse- the opening? quences for all of us as we write. It pulls us towards isolation. It encourages us to hedge our bets. But more Reader: How about starting from a living image, than anything it can seduce us into losing our indi- something specific, and then move into the body? vidual voice. How might we counter these effects? One My feeling was that I wanted to see a much more simple way is through writing with a reader and personalised opening rather than some dry writing with power. In a word, we hope the Peer Support generalisations at the very start. Group can help you “breathe the clarity of experience The peer responder, it is clear, treads a fine line and the experience of clarity” into your writing about between supporting the writer’s development of the language learning and teaching. text, and imposing the reader’s own values on the writer’s work. Indeed, although peer support is in- Contacting the peer support group tended to be collaborative, it always risks becoming Currently, two writers, Jim Goddard and Wilma Luth, evaluative, in that the writer may feel that his/her are collaborating with Peer Support Group members position as owner and creator of the text has been Andy Barfield, Wayne Johnson, Jill Robbins, Sandra undermined. This is the case, for example, in the Smith, Craig Sower and Malcolm Swanson. following unsuccessful peer response, as the writer If you’re interested in sharing your writing with the points out: PSG, or in joining the PSG as a peer responder, please contact: Writer: Other comments seemed invasive in the Andy Barfield, Foreign Language Center, Uni- sense that I felt they began to take the writing versity of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba- process out of my hands: shi, Ibaraki-ken 305-0006, Japan; Reader: The strengths need to be more strongly
10 The Language Teacher 24:4 So . . . You Want to Be a TLT Special Issue Editor?
Katharine Isbell, Julie Sagliano, Mike Sagliano, & Tim Stewart
et’s see. How did we get ourselves tangled up as go wrong, and things take longer than expected. So editors of a special issue of The Language Teacher before you jump into a special issue editor position, we Lanyway? We thought it would be a good idea would like to share with you what we learned from our and, in retrospect, it was a great learning experience. experiences in the editorial hot seat. However, frankly, at times it seemed like we were Expect it to be a tremendous amount of work. caught in a never-ending process. Before we share our Fortunately, there were four of us so we divided up insights, a brief recap of our duties and responsibilities the submissions and worked in two teams. This made as special issue editors is in order. the editing process more manageable. However, we First, we corresponded with the TLT editor and pro- still felt rushed as deadlines loomed. Doing it alone posed ourselves as special issue editors. Next, we decided would be a definite challenge! on a theme, in this case Active Learning, which was Be absolutely and totally organized from day subsequently approved by the editor who in turn sched- one. Keep electronic and hard copies. Create check- uled “our” issue. It sure seemed like 18 months would lists, flowcharts and timelines and use them. give us plenty of time . . . . We wrote and put out the call We thought we were organized, but as it turned out, for papers, solicited a contribution from a noted special- we misplaced the contact information for one of the ist in the field of active learning, critiqued and ranked My Share contributions, and even after frantic searches featured article submissions, provided revision feed- through folders and email messages, all we could do back and suggestions to contributors, wrote rejection was wait to hear from her again. Unfortunately, we are letters, and forwarded the submissions to TLT Editorial still waiting. Advisory Board for final feedback. Not finished yet! In another incident, we heard from a feature article Then we returned submissions for another round of contributor whose paper we had unknowingly lost. He revision, wrote more rejection letters, decided on the contacted us just in time to rectify the error that would order of presentation have eliminated his in the journal, col- submission from lected abstracts and The Language Teacher runs Special Issues regularly throughout the the pool. If you are biographies from the year. Groups with interests in specific areas of language education organized from the selected contributors, are cordially invited to submit proposals, with a view to start, you will save wrote an introduc- collaboratively developing material for publication. For further yourself a lot time tion, and finally sent details, please contact the Editor. and avoid stress. all of this in two Establish a work- months before publi- ing relationship cation date. At the same time, we coordinated with the with TLT editor and stay in regular contact. back-half editors (My Share, Book Reviews, and Net Be aware that TLT editor changes yearly. A well- Nuggets) to ensure that the entire issue would be de- organized and efficient editor can help make your job voted to active learning. go a lot more smoothly. Don’t be afraid to ask for Simple, right? Not really. We quickly relearned two support and guidance from the entire TLT staff. It is important principles: anything that can go wrong will important to know, however, that TLT staff has final
April 2000 11 Feature: Isbell et al. editorial control of your issue. submissions for publication has also blossomed. Remember that TLT Editorial Advisory Board [EAB] So despite some trials and tribulations, all of us felt has the final approval over what articles are accepted that being TLT Special Issue Editors was a very worth- for publication. while learning experience. There was a great deal of For this reason, be careful not to promise publica- satisfaction in being able to pull everything together tion until the EAB has reviewed the submissions. We with the help of fellow editors, TLT staff, and the had worked extensively with the submissions and yet writers themselves. It is a professional development the EAB returned them with copious additional com- opportunity that we recommend you to consider. ments. When we sent the submissions back for a final So if you have some time on your hands, an interest round of revision, one of the authors was livid over in contributing to the field, reasonable organiza- the comments. More to the point, she claimed that by tional skills and patience, JALT has an offer for you: encouraging continued revision of her paper, we, the volunteer to edit a special issue of TLT. There is no powerless special issue editors, had led her to believe salary and no perks, but you do have the entire that her paper was already accepted for publication, journal staff at your disposal. You learn a lot about and she withdrew her submission. The fact was that yourself and the writing and publication process. we had a completely different opinion of the writer’s paper from that of the EAB reviewer and felt that her The writers: submission was among the strongest. We indicated to Katharine Isbell is an Assistant Professor of Comparative her we had never said her paper was accepted and Culture at Miyazaki International College, Japan. Her explained that while criticism of one’s work is often primary responsibilities are to develop and teach Applied unsettling, the process of writing for professional Information Science and English adjunct sections to uni- journals usually requires a lot of time for revision. Our versity courses. Her research interest focuses on the use of advice to her was to look at the reviewer’s suggestions computers in the language classroom. again after a week or so and consider revising her paper one more time. We never heard from her again. Julie Sagliano is teaching English at Miyazaki Interna- Check, double check, triple check everything all tional College in Japan. Her professional interests include the time. team teaching, and the use of debate and video in the Even doing this we still had some minor problems. classroom. She has taught in South America, Africa, Our draft call for papers was unexpectedly published Europe, and the Middle East. and had the incorrect submission deadline and no contact information. The two book reviews written Michael Sagliano has been teaching English and collabora- for our issue ended up in the preceding issue of TLT tive courses for six years at Miyazaki International College. and for some reason, the promised Net Nuggets Using active learning, especially videos, simulations and column was never unearthed. games, he has taught content-based courses at other col- Enjoy the rewards of being a TLT Guest Editor. leges in Japan, the United States and Bahrain. Involved in Once submissions started piling up on our desks, the founding of JALT’s Akita chapter, he served as its first we had the pleasure of reading numerous articles that chapter president from 1992-93. approached the topic in ways that we had never expected. The diverse perspectives in the submissions Tim Stewart has been teaching at Miyazaki International on active learning surprised all of us. We certainly College since 1994. From 1996 to 1998 he was editor of learned a lot, both theoretically and practically, from Canadian Content, the journal of the Association of Cana- the writers whose work was accepted as well as from dian Teachers in Japan. He has had his manuscripts those whose submissions were not. rejected by some of the finest publications in the field. Perhaps we will become better writers ourselves after working with the different writing styles used by the contributors. Seeing how different authors dealt with their content and organization as they tried to meet our expectations was useful. Our writing styles IFC = inside front cover, IBC = inside back cover, may have improved through appreciation of and OBC = outside back cover learning from other writers. We definitely became better at negotiating as we Council ...... 2 corresponded with our contributors over desired ed- EFL Press ...... IFC iting changes. We tried to achieve optimal results Interads ...... 23 from writers by taking care not to offend their talents. Seeing the efforts of writers and of the work per- Nellie’s ...... 20 formed by TLT staff as we worked on the special issue Oxford University Press ...... OBC has whetted our appetites for more editing opportu- Pearson ...... IBC nities in the future. Our desire to prepare our own
12 The Language Teacher 24:4 Getting Published: An Overview of JALT Publications
ublications have always formed the heart of JALT Journal Online:
April 2000 13 Feature: Getting Published
information on how to submit. Publications Director, f: 0726 24 2793,
14 The Language Teacher 24:4 Feature: Getting Published
third issue if contributions allow. global issues (c) to promote the integration of Aims: LAC is a practitioner journal that is produced in global issues, global awareness and social responsi- association with the FL Literacy SIG of JALT. It bility into language teaching (d) to promote aware- publishes feature articles, review essays, and shorter ness among language teachers of important reviews on various topics in FL reading, writing and developments in global education and the related literacy. Non-native English writers and beginning fields of environmental education, human rights authors welcome. education, peace education and development edu- Type of Articles: LAC welcomes submissions in English cation. on topics related to L2 reading and writing and Type of Articles: practical descriptions of global issue/ their social product, L2 literacy. We are committed global education; classroom activities, teaching to getting articles written by classroom teachers methods/approaches, curricula/course design, and non-native speakers/writers of English into teaching materials, resources, opinion essays re- print, e-mail and HTML forms of the journal. lated to aspects of global issues, global education, We invite any interested person to submit ar- and language teaching ticles (up to 3000 words); perspective/opinion pieces; Contact & Submission Details: Kip Cates, Tottori Uni- book and article reviews; annotated bibliographies; versity, Koyama-cho, Tottori City, 680-8551 t/f: responses to LAC articles; descriptions/reviews of 0857-31-5650,
April 2000 15 Feature: Getting Published
on paper, with a third web-based version should teacher training, teacher development, and teacher budgeting become prohibitive. Deadlines for sub- mentoring mission are not fixed. Type of Articles: In general, articles which serve the Aims: To record and catalog cases of academic and aims of publication, for example: member inter- professional issues which are either definitive of ests/profiles: 50-100 words; calls for papers, partici- systemic problems within the Japanese education pation, or collaboration: 100-500 words; poems/ system, or are progressive steps towards ameliora- essays: (variable); book reviews: 500 words; reports: tion or resolution; to propose goals and strategies 1000 words; articles: 1500 words; interviews: 2000 for fostering better lives for educators in more words rewarding professional positions; to attempt to Contact & Submission Details: Our newsletter is pub- show leadership in the academic world not merely lished 3-4 times a year and submissions are ac- in terms of pedagogy but also in quality of life, cepted on an ongoing basis. Please follow the APA academic freedom, and job security. style for English articles; Japanese articles are also Type of Articles: Articles on labor issues (such as previ- welcomed. Include a short abstract, biographical ous or emerging permutations of the ninkisei term- sketch, & contact information, as well as a list of 3- limitation system as it envelops all educators in 6 keywords pertaining to your article. Manuscripts, Japan), professionalism (what should we as educa- electronic mail, and enquiries can be sent to: tors or administrators aim towards for ourselves or Paul A. Beaufait
16 The Language Teacher 24:4 ROUGHROUGHROUGH COMP PROOF FINAL
A Month in the Life of TLT A “Chapter in Your Life” Special Report by joyce cunningham & miyao mariko
Have you ever wondered about all the nameless worker insightful developments at the institutional level, bees toiling behind this and other sections of your whether departmental, faculty, or whole institution monthly Language Teacher columns? What truly goes on are sought, as opposed to individual teacher-focussed in the “hive” each month, and who is the queen. . .er developments in classroom teaching. Contributors king bee? are invited to write about interesting innovations Well, the King bee (Malcolm Swanson) in all his related to new curricula/courses, extracurricular ac- wisdom has decided that we should all line up at tivities, or institutional organization. In his second attention at the door of the hive and hum. . .er describe column, Creative Course Design, Daniel wants to our columns to you, our readers. Command perfor- inform readers of the variety of new, stimulating mance? Right, Sire Malcolm! This month’s profile, then, courses being taught in the context of Japanese insti- will acquaint you a little with these behind-the-scenes tutions. He is also soliciting descriptions of creative activities. You may even feel like joining us on the staff, designs and syllabuses being used successfully on and we would welcome you warmly. subjects the teaching community are already familiar So, let’s get on with it! Amy Hawley and Sugino with. It is Daniel’s hope that the readers will share Toshiko, editors of the column JALT News, are buzz- insights and be aware of the possible benefits that will ing so loudly and enthusiastically that we’d better start inevitably come their way. with them. JALT News summarizes important news In another part of the TLT hive, Katharine Isbell happening at the National level. Between flights to the and Oda Masaki ceased their diligence to tell us a little main flower garden located in the Central Office, Amy about their column Book Reviews. Katharine and paused to say that she wants to increase readers’ Masaki’s column provides information to TLT read- awareness of what officers are doing at the National ers on useful teaching materials, in order to help Level. She stated that she has come up with a lot of them decide which materials are worth spending good ideas from reading all the reports, and that some their hard-earned money on. They both stated that chapters have even voluntarily started sending them reviewing a book for the TLT is an excellent, thought- honey. . .er minutes, as well as exciting information provoking writing activity, and hope more reviewers about the events happening in their chapters. Amy will volunteer after reading this. And contributors believes that this is a great chance to meet a lot of take heart! They are willing to work extensively with interesting people in a variety of areas in JALT, and she the reviewer. I see commander-in-chief Malcolm fairly is really enjoying working on this column. beaming in their direction at all the hard work and Wearing two hats, Daniel McIntyre decided to be- energy they have put into this column. come editor of the occasional columns Education Net Nuggets has editor Larry Davies scurrying about Innovations and Creative Course Design partly to the hive in an effort to keep up with all the rapid changes compensate for his chequered past, and to contribute on the Internet. For most readers, it may be difficult to humankind. He took time off from cleaning out his sometimes to keep abreast of the latest technical and cell in the hive (his wife is about to arrive back from her pedagogical developments in using the Internet for business trip to the Philippines) to report in for duty. language teaching, but Larry is there to inform us. He In the column Educational Innovations, papers are invites interesting submissions on useful sites from welcomed which inform readers about developments teachers at all levels. In addition, this helpful column in the organization of foreign language education at directs teachers to language learning resources available all levels and in neighbouring countries as well, where on the Internet for a general language learning and conditions confronting teachers and learners may be teaching audience, and we thank Larry for helping out similar. Descriptions and evaluations of interesting/ those of us who are less in the know.
April 2000 17 A Chapter In Your Life
In the SIG corner of the TLT hive, you can usually ity. They would like to receive ads that include more find Robert Long, JALT2000 Conference Programme job openings for nonnative professional language Co-Chair, and editor of the Special Interest Group teachers of English. They want to encourage institu- News column. He’ll be labouring away to forage out tions to submit ads for teachers of Chinese, French, articles from our various JALT SIGs to better inform German, Spanish and other languages. readers of issues and problems in research and profes- Oh yes, and let us not forget Tom Merner, in charge sional ideas. Robert admires and is inspired by the of publicizing monthly meetings and other related dedication of the many people involved in the SIGs events such as mini-conferences, book fairs, chapter and cannot help but have more interest in his own retreats, and so on in the Chapter Meetings column. career, especially when he encounters the commit- These timely announcements help to attract attend- ment these same people have month after month. ees to our chapter gatherings and increase interest Sandra Smith, Oishi Harumi and Scott Gardner are among non-JALT members in participating in chap- editors of the column My Share, a forum for teachers ter events. Born and raised in Japan, Tom is com- to describe classroom lesson plans that have worked pletely bilingual, and for this reason is committed to well. My Share, the editors insist, is much more than increasing the amount of Japanese in the announce- a simple exchange of “hints for harried teachers.” It ments, as it may be the first contact some Chapter demonstrates some quite thoughtful applications of people have with local members from their area. the very theories and proposals found in the feature However, he confesses that the column is still far article section at the front of the journal. The editors from achieving this goal. Tom feels that this first bit hope to solicit more contributions from teachers of of Japanese directs the attention of first-timers and young people for, they say, even games for the small- may trigger in them sufficient interest and courage to est children, as long as they are original, are grounded even attend a meeting. Tom hates long announce- in research and can benefit language educators and ments that cause him to burn the midnight oil, learners. Good work, Sandra, Scott and Harumi! especially after deadlines. He reminds overly enthusi- Not only is Brian Cullen one of the hardworking astic programme chairs (those with a tendency to proofreaders for the TLT but he and Saito Makiko are drone on) that the maximum length for chapter also editors of the Bulletin Board column which announcements is sixty words. posts announcements of upcoming JALT events, con- Diane Pelyk and Nagano Yoshiko edit the Chapter ferences, call for papers and so on. Sporting a delight- Reports column and wait each month for showerings ful Irish accent when reached by phone at his cell, of nectar from the chapters, telling the rest of our Brian supports supreme commander Malcolm in his readers what is happening in each local area. They effort towards more personalization for the TLT and invite reports in either Japanese or English. Confer- less focus on the “academic” standards of research ence Calendar, edited by Lynne Roecklein and journals. Brian thinks that the TLT is a great forum Kakutani Tomoko, keeps everyone informed of con- that needs to reach out to the teachers’ base that ferences around the world and their calls for submis- exists in Japan and prove each month that it is sions. And Recently Received, compiled by Angela relevant to their professional lives. He marvels at all Ota, offers would-be-reviewers choices of course books, the work carried on in the TLT community over email supplementary texts, or teacher’s references to try out (accepting submissions, editing, proofreading, and and evaluate for the Book Reviews column. sending the finished product off to the printers) with- But wait a minute, Mariko, we haven’t mentioned out ever coming face to face, and he is proud to be part our own column yet, A Chapter in Your Life. Two of that special team spirit. years ago, Andy Barfield came up with the great title Bettina Begole and Natsue Duggan run the Job and since that time, special mention goes to Ruth Information Center/Positions column, but they are McCreery of The Word Works who has been marvel- quick to point out that the column, which provides lous at making borders and increasing the visual information on jobs, is only the tip of the iceberg and appeal. In the beginning, it certainly wasn’t easy to the smallest part of what they do. We will see Bettina find willing “victims,” as we had no proven track again in the JIC room on the conference site of record and were unknown, but lately, chapters and JALT2000 in Shizuoka on November 3-5. In the JIC SIGs are approaching us with ideas and stories. We’ve room, you can find information on available posi- had lots of adventures and in the process, we’ve tions. Interested people can come to look for new learned heaps. I was even called a pedantic bug bear employment, submit their C.V.s and sometimes, be at one point while I was learning to edit. Our column interviewed on the spot by perspective employers. In has grown from a focus on the chapters, the grassroots addition, Bettina maintains a monthly email update of JALT, to include special SIG reports and now and for all those who wish to receive further information then, submissions of a special nature. We now invite on employment developments. In the TLT JIC col- all chapters and SIGs, big and small, to write 800- umn, Bettina and her partner try to screen ads which word reports about their memorable activities, ven- may discriminate against age, gender, and national- ues, members, challenges they have met and so on. It
18 The Language Teacher 24:4 A Chapter In Your Life is a good way for all to share their creative solutions A Word about The Word Works and build bridges in order to network with each other. I also hasten to say that I have the greatest After all the work everyone else has put into TLT, it’s partner in the world. Just when I’m on the point of hard to imagine what could be left for us, your friendly going cross-eyed from working with our contributors neighborhood Word Works, to do. But there’s always to edit and polish their reports, Mariko quietly, capa- more than enough to keep us hopping. bly takes over and does all the formatting and finish- In principle, our contribution is to develop a basic ing touches that TLT demands. It’s not such a scramble template for the magazine—a design that works, given anymore, thank goodness, and we look forward to the the nature of TLT and the budget available—and then variation each month brings us. format the articles, which arrive at the end of the Deep in the hive, month for the front half and on the fifth for the back, you’ll find another and pour them into the layout template. When every- group quietly work- thing is roughly in the layout, we generate the pdf files ing away under the from which the proofreaders now work and zip them paternal gaze of our off by email. (Considering that until we started work- Assistant Editor, Paul ing on TLT, the layout was physically cut and pasted, Lewis. These people by the way, I think we’re pretty amazingly high tech.) patiently and profes- By then, it’s the tenth of the month. A few days later, sionally proof our with the keen-eyed proofreaders’ comments in hand, work each month, en- we start correcting the errors that managed to slip past suring that TLT is able the first set of proofreaders. We also start tweaking the Joyce Cunningham to maintain the high layout, to make it smoother, more consistent, and, and Miyao Mariko standards it does. It is somehow or other, divisible by four when the adver- from this pool of tising pages are added. proofing staff that we draw our new column editors. When that magic number has been achieved, we At the end of the editing chain, the ever alert Aleda generate pdfs again and throw them at the editor. If Krause is ready and waiting to pounce on anything the editorial arithmetic agrees with ours and no one we’ve overlooked, before sending it off to Ruth and discovers a missing article or other cause for hysteria, her Word Works team. (See The Word Works story for then we tidy up the layout yet again, produce the table more on what they do.) of contents, stare at it a little more, then, usually on the And finally, it would “bee” very unfair of us not to seventeenth, print and call the takkyubin man, before mention Malcolm Swanson; a scholar, techie, gentle- the bloom goes off. man and our noble TLT leader who has just taken over Executing the design, and making continuing re- the responsibility of directing the hive. Head bee— finements in it, is satisfying, but it’s the points where nimble minded, full of vision and plans—we support things go wrong that make working on TLT exciting. you Malcolm and applaud the many ideas you want to The occasional virus arriving with a TLT file, styles implement in the months to come. conflicts that trash PageMaker, an article that has May our magazine prosper under your mysteriously lost all spaces between words, a photo- guidance. And last, but not least, our graph with ink across a Very Important Person’s face: thanks to all the “workers” for their TLT gives us endless opportunities to demonstrate our dedication, drive, and determination coping skills. to put out interesting and varied col- A certain amount of creative satisfaction, the occa- umns while balancing the needs of sional adrenaline hit of crisis successfully contained: school, family, and friends. Oh yes that would be enough to make working on TLT grati- and naruhodo, we salute you, our fying. But we also gain from being part of a dedicated readers, and thank you for your sup- Scott team contributing so much energy to sustaining and port, positive feedback, and assis- Gardner improving the magazine—not for fame or fortune, but tance. to help other language teachers. Editors, proofreaders, contributors: you are all amazing. Ruth McCreery
ROUGHROUGHROUGH COMP PROOF FINAL
April 2000 19 20 The Language Teacher 24:4 My Share edited by scott gardner & oishi harumi
Pass It Around are piling up, but can pass them on John Dutton, Apple English Center, Ikeda, Osaka quickly by writing shorter state- ments (O.K., Yes, That’s right, etc.). The writing stage stops when the The focus of this activity is on cohesion in student- bottom of the page is reached, or after a set time. written dialogues. It is a multi-skill activity that is fast- moving, fun, adaptable to different situations, and Editing stage (two to three minutes) that requires minimal preparation by the teacher. Each student takes one dialogue and corrects any Students in Japan, especially in junior high school errors, discussing changes with other members of the and high school, are often very talkative in Japanese, group if necessary. The teacher imposes a time limit, but seem shy and reluctant to speak in English, despite and monitors progress. having acquired the English skills necessary to do so. Dialogue writing can play an important role in devel- Assessment and performance stage (ten minutes) oping students’ communicative abilities, and can be Still in groups of four, each student role-plays one of seen as one step along the road to more spontaneous the dialogues with another student. All students in the oral communication. group assign a score (out of ten, perhaps) to each In the procedure outlined below, I will assume the dialogue (a small score chart could be included on class consists of twenty junior high school students, each photocopy to facilitate this); this gives the two working in five groups of four. The timing of each part students not role-playing the dialogue a reason to of the activity is, of course, approximate. listen carefully. The teacher continues to monitor. The two best dialogues from each group are then per- Teacher preparation before class (two minutes) formed for the whole class (so that every student gets Take a B5 piece of paper and write “A: B: A: B:...” down a chance to perform). the left-hand side. Make four photocopies of this page (groups of four). Write a number one to four in the top Correction right-hand corner, and an opening comment for “A” As a skills activity, the emphasis is on fluency, rather on each of the four photocopies. Vary the opening than accuracy. To what extent the teacher decides to comments so that (hopefully) a variety of dialogues correct the work at each stage will depend upon the will result, for example: particular situation and the philosophy of the teacher. While some teachers may feel uneasy about having 1. What are you doing today? (present continuous) students listen to dialogues containing errors in the 2. How was your weekend? (past simple) performance stage, too much correction may be 3. Happy Christmas! (present simple) demotivating to students. 4. Hello! (free) Photocopy each piece of paper five times (five groups). Resource Obviously, twenty original student-produced dialogues In class—writing stage (ten minutes) are a valuable resource! They can be dated and put in Organize groups of four. Hand out the dialogue sheets, a class folder for future use. Some students like to one set to each group, one sheet for each student. Each decorate the dialogues with pictures and colour; then student must then continue the dialogue by writing, the dialogues can be displayed on the wall. in pencil, one line, then pass their paper clockwise to the next student. In the meantime, a piece of paper Other factors may have arrived from the previous student. The Depending on the individual situation, various factors recipient must then quickly read the dialogue so far, may contribute to making this activity more effective. I and continue with an appropriate line of writing. It is will consider just one here, that is pre-teaching. Before easy at first, but as the papers get passed around, the the writing stage, it might be a good idea to show dialogues get longer, and it becomes more difficult to students two example dialogues, one with very good write cohesively. The teacher monitors the writing cohesive qualities (a nice “flow”), and the other very stage, assisting if and where necessary. disjointed. Point out the merits and demerits of each. The students seem to enjoy the “race against time” Also, it might be useful to teach some cohesive nature of the activity. Large differences in student strategies. For example, “By the way” or “Anyway” can ability do not seem to pose too much of a problem. be used to avoid abrupt changes of topic in the dia- Better students realize they have more time and use logue. Also, A and B should probably have an equal the extra time to write longer, more interesting sen- share of the dialogue, both asking questions, both tences. Slower students may find that pieces of paper seeking confirmation or acceptance, etc.
April 2000 21 My Share
Conclusion Quick Guide I have found this to be a very enjoyable activity, which Key words: Writing, Self-assessment produces a good deal of concentrated effort by stu- Learner English Level: All levels dents in the writing stage. It allows students to express Learner Maturity Level: Junior High to Adult themselves relatively freely and gives them an oppor- Preparation Time: Two minutes tunity to reflect upon and assess their own work. The Activity Time: Varies teacher is left to monitor the activity as it proceeds and to note any areas of difficulty for later remedial work.
Teaching Culture: A Variation On Jigsaw Reading Helen Korengold, the cultures differ greatly, the two ESL Department, Minnesota State University-Akita articles have a similar structure, length (about 1000 words), and topic organization. One of the challenges of developing a content-based Pre-reading English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course is how Students are initially paired so that their partners have exactly to exploit authentic, academic text so that the same article; the room can be divided in half students improve reading and other language skills in accordingly, “A Article” on one side and “B Article” on a communicative, meaningful context. Although there the other. Because both articles deal with tribes in the has been some debate about the usefulness of authen- same country, pre-reading activities can be carried out tic materials for the language learner, an EAP program with the entire class. Students locate New Guinea on that is training its students to eventually attain the the map and briefly discuss what they already know or necessary skills to function in a foreign (British, Ameri- may have heard about the country. What kind of can, etc.) university has no choice but to expose terrain and climate might they expect? What kinds of students to authentic materials as early and as much as cultures may have developed in such an environ- possible. What teachers do with this sometimes very ment? What impressions or stereotypes do students difficult material in order to address skills such as have of the tribes that live there? Other such points speed, skimming, guessing at meaning, developing can be briefly elicited and discussed. vocabulary, critical evaluation, and other competen- cies needed at higher education levels, is a critical Reading factor both in course development and in day-to-day 1. In pairs, have each student read three random teaching methods. sentences from the article, and state their impres- One reading activity which can be used with con- sions to their partners. tent-related articles or portions of a textbook encom- 2. Carry out a three-minute timed reading in which passes a variety of reading skills and also involves students skim for general meaning. interaction and cooperative work with the aim of 3. Turning over the article, students write two or mastering a specific content area critical to the subject three sentences about what they recall. Partners area. The activity is a variation on jigsaw reading. can then compare what they wrote. 4. Students read the first paragraph without a dictio- Materials nary and lightly mark any unknown words. To- Two very similar readings of about equal length within gether pairs guess possible meanings and compare the content area are required; for example, readings their words. about two cultures within the same environment 5. Students now have five minutes (or more, depend- would be ideal. The activity could also be used for a ing on reading levels and text difficulty) to read the comparison of animal or plant species. For an EAP entire excerpt. Students may take notes on impor- Sociology class I used text extracts of two case studies tant areas or use highlighters, whichever is pre- by Margaret Mead about two tribes of Papua New ferred. They can then work with their partners to Guinea that she researched, the Mundugamor and the clarify meaning. Arapesh. Although the tribes lived within very close proximity of each other in an almost identical envi- Presentation Preparation ronment, they developed radically different cultures; Students now prepare a short talk about the tribe each text extract summarizes the values, cultural prac- they’ve read about. Together partners: tices, family life, economies and work systems, person- 1. Outline the key points they want to cover, ality traits, and rituals of one of the tribes. Although 2. Practice a three-minute presentation of the tribal
22 The Language Teacher 24:4 My Share
culture, premise that culture is learned. Students are routinely 3. Prepare a list of questions they want to ask the amazed by the radical differences between these two other group about their tribe. tribes, and further activities can focus on comparing them and on exploring the real meaning of culture. Jigsaw Because of the communicative aspects of the reading 1. Students now pair up with someone who read activity, the content has become mastered in a mean- about the opposite tribe. ingful way and, at the same time, various language 2. One student gives a presentation and the other skills have been practiced. asks the questions already prepared. Other ques- tions will probably arise and should be encour- Quick Guide aged. Key Words: Reading, Culture 3. The students then change roles and everyone in Learner English Level: High Intermediate to Advanced the class now has an overview of both tribes. Learner Maturity Level: College or University Preparation Time: Varies—time needed to locate appro- These particular readings, and many others which priate readings deal with two cultures in similar environments, are an eye-opening study which demonstrates clearly the
April 2000 23 Departments
tion, cover pronunciation problems well beyond this Book Reviews level—any linguistic terminology is restricted wholly edited by katherine isbell and oda masaki to background notes in the teacher’s manual. While sympathising with the authors decision to go for the Pronunciation Plus—Practice Through Interaction. “nothing” as opposed to the “all” approach as far as Martin Hewings and Sharon Goldstein. Cambridge: the inclusion of linguistic terminology is concerned, Cambridge University Press, 1999. Student Text: pp. vi some pronunciation problems—for example, the pho- + 146. ¥2890. ISBN: 0-521-57797-7. Teacher’s Manual: netic value of regular past tense -ed—could have been pp. x + 148. ¥3480. ISBN: 0-521-57796-9. Audio cas- much more astutely explained through some basic settes (4) ¥12,600. ISBN: 0-521-57795-0. phonetics such as a simple explanation of voiced v. voiceless. Pronunciation Plus, as its title suggests, is a comprehen- My main gripe, however, with what is a pedagogically sive workbook covering English pronunciation. It is sound and thorough textbook is the authors’ bizarre divided into eight parts: vowels, consonants, conso- choice of phonetic transcription system. Having de- nant clusters, stress and rhythm, sounds in connected cided to eschew IPA, the curious “halfway house” em- speech, intonation, sounds and grammar, and pro- ployed does not correspond to any used in a major nouncing written words. Each of these parts is further dictionary nor is any explanation of their choice offered subdivided into between six and eight units, giving a in the teacher’s manual. Given the reality that different total of sixty units in all. What the title does not dictionaries use different transcription systems, the suggest, however, is that the book covers only North adoption of a system employed by one major dictionary American English, and so those teachers who feel may have been more appropriate for students. uncomfortable with teaching a pronunciation in which Reviewed by Mark Irwin they are nonnative or with which they are unfamiliar Hokkaido University may wish to consider an alternative work. Since the student textbook provides some information on the Springboard 2. Jack C. Richards. New York: Oxford few dialectal differences within North American En- University Press, 1999. Student Book: pp. 74. ¥1984. glish, and the teacher’s manual provides supplemen- ISBN: 019-435353-2. Cassettes: ¥6300. ISBN: 019- tary explanation on differences within World Englishes, 435355-9. the scope of the book could have been easily broad- ened to encompass all English varieties, in my view a Springboard 2, the latter half of a two-level textbook costly (pun intended) oversight. series, is a recent entry into the crowded field of theme- As the authors state in their foreword to the teacher’s based textbooks that focus on speaking and listening manual, the parts and units are not intended to be skills for young adult learners at the pre-intermediate taught in any particular order. Whilst the well-struc- to intermediate levels. It stands tall among its com- tured order in which these do appear in the textbook petitors due to its topic selection, creative projects, as a whole does not prevent a straight ploughing- and attractive layout. through, the sheer quantity of material probably does. Each of the twelve units explores a single topic, and Moreover, as Pronunciation Plus is not geared towards these were chosen as a result of student surveys con- any particular first-language target group, I found ducted. While some topics such as friendship, money, myself quickly picking out those units that focus on and values come as no surprise and can be found in the perennial pronunciation problems of Japanese many textbooks, others such as stress and solutions, students, most of which have a unit to themselves, challenges, color and design, and theme parks are more such as differentiating /l/ and /r/ (unit 15), /b/ and /v/ refreshing and indicate that student voices were indeed (unit 12), consonant clusters (units 17-22), and sounds heard during the selection process. Some teachers may in connected speech (units 31-37). be distressed by the prospect of replacing seemingly The units themselves are, on average, divided into weightier topics with the likes of theme parks, but such approximately eight tasks, the first few of which use a switch may be just what is needed to get otherwise the traditional discriminate-repeat-correct methodol- disinterested or reticent students to start chatting. ogy. The Plus is that later tasks are based on a more A set of projects sandwiched between the units and communicative approach, with students required to the text’s glossary stresses creativity and culminates identify, discover rules, and exchange information via with directions for sharing the end product. Most of pair or group-work. Sections are supplemented by (as the projects work well as either individual or group usual, extortionately expensive) cassette recordings, tasks, and each one contains helpful graphics depict- and some initiative is required in order to carry out all ing the necessary tools and a finished model. As the tasks without them. While vocabulary is limited to surveys, maps, collages, and so forth are the norm, intermediate student level—though some of the later expect a rather heavy investment in markers, poster units, especially those on stress, rhythm and intona- paper, and other construction materials.
24 The Language Teacher 24:4 Book Reviews
Springboard 2’s layout has an attractive color scheme, mastered for complete competence. Yet their use, both and people are depicted in either photographs or light- productive and receptive, is perhaps the most difficult hearted cartoon-like depictions, thereby avoiding the aspect of English for many Japanese students. Indeed, realistic drawings that some students find so dull. Also, it is often the lack or misuse of idioms that sets a high- although this textbook does not claim to be specifically level nonnative learner apart from a native speaker. As targeted at Asian learners, familiar images such as Hello a result, the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idi- Kitty, Doraemon, and even a Fendi bag will likely elicit oms (CIDI) will appeal to advanced learners who wish gasps of recognition from Japanese students. to make the final leap towards full language mastery. Teachers of lengthy courses may find the offerings of Approximately 7000 contemporary idioms are listed Springboard 2 to be a bit sparse. Each unit is only four in the alphabetical order of a key word within the pages long, and roughly half of each page is devoted to idiom. Where there is more than one key word—as is photos and other graphics. However, those of us who the case with most idioms—it can be first looked up in enjoy supplementing course texts with other materials the index at the back. For example, the idiom, throw will appreciate the Springboard website (www.oup.com/ good money after bad appears under good in the main elt/springboard). For each unit, it offers a short reading part of the dictionary, but in the index is classified four passage as well as several web links with directions for times under throw, good, money or bad. Each idiom is classroom activities based on materials printed from the defined using a vocabulary of 2000 basic words and links. Although Springboard cannot guarantee the con- also comes with an example of usage derived from the sistency of the links, my random sampling found 9 of 10 Cambridge International Corpus. Regional and regis- suggested links were active and contained information ter labels (e.g., British, mainly American, informal, or compatible to the suggested activity. Also, a bulletin humorous) are given where necessary. Common and board for Springboard teachers to exchange ideas is useful idioms are highlighted. This should benefit promised to start in the future. learners, especially those who are studying for exami- The text does have some limitations. The defini- nations. tions offered in the ten-page glossary are confined to The CIDI has two features that take it beyond merely how the words have been used in the text. For ex- an aid to reading and put it ahead of its rivals. First, in ample, alien is simply defined as someone from another an attempt to make the dictionary more accessible to planet. None of its other meanings are included. Also, writers, there is a section entitled Theme Panels, which many glossary entries are phrases rather than single groups selected idioms into one of sixteen topics, for words. For example, if a student only looks up back- example, business, health, and money. Writers look- ground upon reading family background in the text, the ing for a suitable idiom can search under one of these search will end in frustration. Unfortunately, there is topics. Moreover, there are several pages of no indication in the text itself that phrases such as photocopiable exercises, complete with answer key, family background should be treated as a single unit. which can be used as an effective learning tool. Springboard 2’s listening component is adequate, So far, so good; however, there are a few minor and the tapes offer a particularly wide variety of shortcomings. There is no cross-referencing by page English accents. However, most dialogues are spoken number from the keywords listed in the index as there at a relatively slow pace with exaggerated intonation is in the Chambers Dictionary of Idioms (1996). Entries and enunciation. Thus, teachers who wish to expose in the Theme Panels and the answer key of the exer- students to natural and authentic English usage even cises are similarly unreferenced. This makes moving at pre-intermediate levels may find themselves scram- around the dictionary unnecessarily slow. Also, the bling to find listening supplements. CIDI limits its coverage to those idioms in current use Springboard 2’s brief and colorful units are engaging, in Britain, the U.S., and Australia. Why exclude Canada, and teachers can stretch out the topics that prove most New Zealand, or anywhere else English is spoken? appealing with the help of the project file and web- After all the word international is used in the title. based support. Also, at a lean 74 pages, my students no Finally, a better explanation of the nature and types of longer grumble about sore shoulders from lugging a idioms could be included (e.g., COBUILD Dictionary of heavy English textbook around town. Idioms, 1995). Reviewed by Thomas Mach Still, the above weaknesses do not detract from the Language Center, Kwansei Gakuin University overall effect of this dictionary which is to provide users with a specialised and informative resource to Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms. complement their existing dictionaries. I would have Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. pp. xv no hesitation in recommending the CIDI to advanced + 587. ¥3280. ISBN: 0 521 62567 X. students of English. Reviewed by Brian Perry An idiom is a phrase whose overall meaning differs Otaru University of Commerce from the individual meanings of its constituent words. Idioms abound in English, and accordingly, must be
April 2000 25 Book Reviews/JALT News
References Chambers dictionary of idioms. (1996). Edinburgh: Chambers JALT News Harrap. edited by amy e. hawley and sugino toshiko COBUILD dictionary of idioms. (1995). London: HarperCollins. This month, I have once again included the Call for Recently Received Nominations in both English and Japanese as contrib- uted by Peter Gray, the National Elections Committee compiled by angela ota Chair. Please be sure to take a look at it again and spread The following items are available for review. Overseas the word to the chapters and SIGs that you are active in. reviewers are welcome. Reviewers of all classroom Well, as everyone knows by now, the Executive related books must test the materials in the classroom. Board Meeting was held on January 29-30 at Sophia An asterisk indicates first notice. An exclamation mark University in Tokyo. It was quite a productive week- indicates third and final notice. All final notice items end and JALT owes a very big thanks to Tim Knowles will be discarded after the 30th of April. Please contact for making reservations for us and making us feel at Publishers’ Reviews Copies Liaison. Materials will be home. We all had a wonderful time due to his efforts. held for two weeks before being sent to reviewers and Thanks, Tim!!! when requested by more than one reviewer will go to At the EBM, the main area of business that was the reviewer with the most expertise in the field. Please discussed was the budget for 2000-2001. The Financial make reference to qualifications when requesting Steering Committee Chair had already compiled a materials. Publishers should send all materials for budget with numbers given to her by people represent- review, both for students (text and all peripherals) and ing all areas of JALT. Each person who was responsible for teachers, to Publishers’ Reviews Copies Liaison. for a particular area of the budget discussed it and by Sunday afternoon, the Finance Team, led by David For Students McMurray, the Director of Treasury, passed the follow- ing budget for the 2000-2001 fiscal year: Course Books !Situational English. Broadway, D. et al. Tokyo: Nichibei— REVENUES Nan’un-do, 1994. membership dues 38,594,500 !Internet English: WWW-based Communication Activi- ties (student’s, teacher’s). Gitsaki, C., & Taylor, R. New sales and services 1,012,881 York: Oxford University Press, 2000. other receipts 2,456,000 !The Oxford Picture Dictionary (monolingual, English- publication receipts 10,195,000 Japanese, teacher’s, beginning workbook, intermediate conference and programs 29,460,000 workbook, cassette). Shapiro, N., & Adelson-Goldstein, J. TOTAL REVENUES 81,718,381 New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Supplementary Materials EXPENSES ! Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. chapter grants 7,190,000 Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 1999. SIG grants 800,000 Alexis, the Ecomium TOEIC Test Preparation System (CD other grants 0 Rom). Okanagan University College. Cincinnati: Enco- meetings 1,100,000 mium Publications, content ©1996-2000. administration JCO/nat. off. 28,139,000 other 3,479,689 For Teachers publications 18,871,000 conference 21,179,550 (Contact the JALT Journal Reviews Editor to request the TOTAL EXPENSES 80,759,239 following books.) Essentials of English Language Testing. Kitao, S., & Kitao, K. Tokyo: Eichosha, 1999. GAIN 959,142 Fundamentals of English Language Teaching. Kitao, S., & Kitao, K. Tokyo: Eichosha, 1999. Congratulations to the Finance Team for a job well- *Language Teaching: New Insights for the Language done. Teacher. Ward, C., & Renandya, W. (Eds.) Singapore: I think the previous line should be rewritten as: They SEOMEO Regional Language Centre, 1999. stated that the budget formulated last year does reveal *Professional Development Collection: Using New Tech- the targeted gain of 800,000 yen. And they are once nology in the Classroom. Brown, K. Sydney: NCELTR, again on their way to steering JALT straight ahead 1999. toward another successful financial year. In next month’s JALT News look for some words from the newly elected National Directors and more January EBM news. submitted by Amy E. Hawley
26 The Language Teacher 24:4 JALT News/JALT2000
Presidential Election Results Confirmed Meeting and end 30 days before the General Meeting. Therefore, this year ballots will be included in the At their January 29, 2000 meeting, the JALT Executive August issue of The Language Teacher and voting will Board approved the Nominations and Elections end on OCTOBER 5, 2000. Committee’s motion that Thom Simmons be recog- Anyone with further questions about the elections nized as the winner of the 1999 election for JALT should contact Peter Gray at the numbers above. president because the only other candidate withdrew from the race before balloting ended. Thom will serve for two years beginning January 1, 2000. Peter Gray NEC Chair 2000 JALT2000 Call for Nominations Conference News Nominations are now open for the following JALT edited by l. dennis woolbright national officer positions: The Granship: Shizuoka Convention Director of Program—Supervises the arrangements and Art Center, designed by world fa- for the annual conference; plans special programs mous architect Arata Isozaki, is home and workshops which will be made available to to JALT2000. Looking very much like Chapters and SIGs. Noah’s Ark at the foot of Mount Fuji, Director of Treasury—Maintains all financial records; the Granship could not be a better collects and disburses all funds of the organization; place for JALT, since it too is the flag- presents an account of the financial status of the ship of language teaching and learning in Japan, point- organization. ing its bow towards the new millennium. The motto of Director of Public Relations—Coordinates JALT pub- Granship is “Attentiveness, Kindness and Flexibility,” licity; promotes relations with educational organiza- all qualities of effective language teaching too! tions, media, and industry; acts as liaison with Only an hour from Tokyo and two hours from institutional and commercial members. Osaka, this centrally located facility is a three-minute Auditor—Inspects the status of JALT’s business and ride from Shizuoka Station. assets; presents opinions to the Directors concerning The first day of the conference will be devoted to JALT’s business and assets; reports to the General workshops sponsored by JALT’s Associate Members. Meeting or to the concerned governmental author- Over the next three days the plenary sessions, work- ity concerning any problems with JALT’s business shops, colloquia, demonstrations, discussions, forums, and assets. poster sessions, and swap meets will be held. The special sessions for nonnative speakers of English will again be All terms are for two years beginning on January 1, a part of this year’s conference and a special child-care, 2001. Further descriptions of these positions can be child-learning center is in the planning stages. Watch found in the constitution and bylaws of JALT as this column in the future for more details. published in The Language Teacher April Supplement: Information & Directory of Officers and Associate JALT2000 Featured Speaker Workshops Members. All nominees must be JALT members in good stand- Cambridge University Press ing. To nominate someone (yourself included), contact Jack C. Richards—Designing Reading Materials: The Peter Gray in writing by letter, fax or email at 1-3-5-1 New Millennium Atsubetsu-higashi, Atusbetsu-ku, Sapporo 004-0001; f: Brian Tomlinson—Materials for Language in the Mind 011-897-9891; email: [email protected]. When making nominations, identify yourself by Oxford University Press name, chapter affiliation and membership number, Sally Wehmeier—From Corpus to Classroom: Dictio- and include your contact information. Identify your nary Making and Use nominee by name, chapter affiliation and member- Norma Shapiro—Travelling the Road to an Active ship number, and include his/her contact informa- Vocabulary tion. The deadline for nominations is MAY 31, 2000. Aston University Candidates who accept their nomination will be Chris Gallagher—Writing Across Genres asked to submit their biodata, statement of purpose, and a photo by JUNE 10, 2000. The ELT Software Store JALT’s new NPO bylaws stipulate that voting for Frank Otto—Language Acquisition and Technology: national officers begin 80 days before the General The Time is Now
April 2000 27 JALT 2000/Bulletin Board/SIG News
David English House Dave Willis—Grammar and Lexis in a Task-Based Bulletin Board Methodology edited by david dycus and kinugawa takao The British Council/GALE (SIG) Contributors to the Bulletin Board are requested by the Jane Sunderland—Researching Gender in Language column editor to submit announcements written in a para- Education graph format and not in abbreviated or outline form. Dyned Lance Knowles—Integrating Multimedia into Lan- The Language Teacher Staff Recruitment guage Teaching The Language Teacher needs English language proof- MacMillan readers immediately. Qualified applicants will be JALT Miles Craven—Mind Maps: What are They and How members with language teaching experience, Japa- do They Work? nese residency, a fax, email, and a computer that can process Macintosh files. The position will require Pearson several hours of concentrated work every month, Steven Molinsky—Strategies for Dynamic Classroom listserv subscription, and occasional online and face- Interaction to-face meetings. If more qualified candidates apply Kate Wolfe-Quintero—Listening for Language Aware- than we can accept, we will consider them in order as ness further vacancies appear. The supervised apprentice program of The Language Teacher trains proofreaders in Plenary Speakers TLT style, format, and operations. Apprentices begin Anne Burns, Macquerie University, Australia by shadowing experienced proofreaders, rotating from Torikai Kumiko, Rikkyo University, Japan section to section of the magazine until they become familiar with TLT’s operations as a whole. They then Special Guest Plenary Speaker assume proofreading tasks themselves. Consequently, when annual or occasional staff vacancies arise, the Jane Sunderland, Lancaster University, U.K. best qualified candidates tend to come from current staff, and the result is often a succession of vacancies November 2-5, 2000 filled and created in turn. As a rule, TLT recruits The 26th Annual International Conference on Lan- publicly for proofreaders and translators only, giving guage Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials senior proofreaders and translators first priority as Exposition other staff positions become vacant. Please submit a curriculum vitae and cover letter to William Acton; For information or registration contact JALT Central JALT Publications Board Chair; Nagaikegami 6410-1, Office: t: 03-3837-1630; f: 03-3837-1631; email: Hirako-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi-ken 488-0872; [email protected]; http://www.jalt.org/ [email protected].
Special Interest Groups News研究部会ニュース edited by robert long Interested in learning more about your SIG? Please feel free to contact the coordinators listed after this column. 各分野別研究部会の活動等に関するお問い合わせは、コラム下に 掲載の各部会コーディネーターにご連絡ください。
CUE—Don’t forget about the CUE conference on “Content and Language Education: Looking at the Future” held in Keisen University, in the Tama Center of West Tokyo, May 20 and 21.The CUE SIG in association with GALE, GILE, MW, Video, and Granship, Shizuoka Pragmatics invites proposals for presentations, work- shops, roundtables, and demonstrations on the theme
28 The Language Teacher 24:4 SIG News
of content-centered language learning. The scope of built on top of a mountain in the middle of the the conference includes content- and theme-based Japanese countryside. The site has guesthouses and education, sheltered learning, and content classes various sports and leisure facilities. The core programme taught in the learner’s second language, with pos- is a series of group workshops and plenary sessions sible connections to skill-based learning and the centring around Action Research in the Japanese learning of foreign languages for specific purposes. classroom, with separate but parallel programmes for The aim of the conference is to explore how such those new and familiar to action research. Plenary approaches to learning language are being imple- sessions will be led by Andy Curtis from the University mented in Japan and neighboring countries, what of Hong Kong. Some of you may remember him from issues arise from their implementation, and the JALT99 at Maebashi. Numbers are limited, so please future they have within individual classrooms, insti- apply early to avoid disappointment! The deadline for tutions and education systems. It is also the aim of registration is Friday, April 7. For online registration the conference to offer practical, hands-on work- visit the Teacher Education SIG website: http:// shops to help participants conceive, plan, and imple- members.xoom.com/jalt_teach/. If you would like ment their own content-centered courses. We hope more information or a registration form, please con- to answer several questions such as: What language tact Colin Graham, site coordinator, at t: 0248-85- and language-learning theories lie behind content- 1313, f: 0248-85-1300, or COLIN_JAPAN@hotmail. centered approaches? What forms can content-cen- com. tered learning take? What content can be used/is 教師教育部会および茨城支部の共催で4月22-23日、福島県のブ being used now? Details are available at www.wild- リティッシュ・ヒルズにおいてアクション・リサーチに焦点をあ e.org/cue/conferences/content.html てた会合を開催いたします。ホンコン大学のAndy Curtis氏を迎 FLL—Members of the Foreign Language Literacy SIG え、アクション・リサーチに関するワークショップや講演を予定 should now have the Spring/Summer issue of Lit- しております。申し込み締切日は4 月7 日です。お申し込みの詳細 eracy Across Cultures. Contact David Dycus at については英文を参照してください。 [email protected] about LAC or Charles Teaching Children—Do you want some inside infor- Jannuzi about the newsletter if you do not receive mation on programs for learning to teach children? your copies. Check out the April issue of TC-SIG’s newsletter 4 月までに外国語リテラシー部会の各会員まで会報「L i teracy Teachers Learning with Children. It’s full of program Across Cultures」春夏号が届く予定です。不明な点等は英文掲載 descriptions, reviews and tips for finding out more 各編集担当までご連絡ください。 about how to teach kids. GALE—Please join us in the GALE room at the CUE 児童語学指導に関連した催しに関する情報に興味をお持ちです SIG conference, May 20-21 in Tokyo (see CUE col- か?当部会会報「Teachers Learning with Children」4月号をぜ umn for details). Bring 50 copies of an activity you ひお読みください。各催しに関する情報、批評記事、その他児童 have created for teaching content related to gender 指導に関する情報を満載しております。 in the EFL classroom, and walk away with enough Culture (forming)—Cosponsored by the newly form- material for a yearlong course. ing Culture SIG, West Tokyo Chapter, and Oxford Also, don’t forget to sign up for GALE’s retreat and University Press, “Cross-Cultural Awareness in the symposium “Triads: The Construction of Gender in EFL Classroom” on April 16th, will offer three pre- Language Education” June 24-25 in Hiroshima. Reg- sentations. See details in Chapter Meetings (West ister with Cheryl Martens (f: 082-820-3795, email: Tokyo). [email protected], t: 082-820-3767). Finally, GALE is co-launching a new Journal of SIG Contact Information Engaged Pedagogy, and we’ll be inviting people to submit articles and join our editorial staff at both the Bilingualism—Peter Gray, t/f: 011-897-9891(h); CUE conference and the GALE symposium. Contact [email protected] the GALE coordinator for more information. Computer-Assisted Language Learning—Elin 5月20-21日開催の大学外国語教育部会会合(詳細は下記CUE部会 Melchior; t: 0568-75-0136(h), 0568-76-0905(w); [email protected] 案内参照) 内のGALE部会室へお越しください。皆様が作成した College and University Educators—Alan Mackenzie; ジェンダーに関連した話題を指導するアクティビティー案を5 0 部 t/f: 03-3757-7008(h); [email protected] お持ちくだされば、参加者全員の指導案をお持ち帰りになること Global Issues in Language Education—Kip A. Cates; ができます。また、6月24-25日に広島で開催される当部会会合へ t/f: 0857-31-5650(w); [email protected] もお申し込みください。 Japanese as a Second Language—Stacey Tarvin Teacher Education—Action Research Weekend Re- Isomura; [email protected] treat. The Retreat will be held at British Hills, 1-8 Aza Junior and Senior High School—Barry Mateer; t: 044- Shibakusa, Oaza Tarao, Ten’ei Mura, Iwase Gun, 933-8588(h); [email protected] Fukushima, on April 22-23. The weekend is co-spon- Learner Development—Hugh Nicoll; t: 0985-20-4788 sored by JALT Teacher Education SIG and the JALT (w); f: 0985-20-4807(w); [email protected] Ibaraki Chapter. British Hills is an English-style village Material Writers—James Swan; t/f: 0742-41-9576(w);
April 2000 29 SIG Contacts/Chapter Reports
[email protected] effectively and fairly evaluated. Professionalism, Administration, and Leadership in According to Pattimore, the usefulness of the tradi- Education—Edward Haig; f: 052-805-3875(w); tional speech contest has been questioned recently. [email protected] The “Interactive English Forum” requires partici- Teacher Education—Lois Scott-Conley; lois.scott- pants to engage in natural English conversation with [email protected] each other rather than giving prepared speeches to Teaching Children—Aleda Krause; t: 048-776-0392; audiences. After watching a ten-minute video of the f: 048-776-7952; [email protected] (English); forum, the chapter members were asked to evaluate [email protected] (Japanese) the spontaneous communication skills of four jun- Testing and Evaluation—Leo Yoffe; t/f: 027-233- 8696(h); [email protected] ior high school girls. The actual grading format was Video—Daniel Walsh; t: 0722-99-5127(h); used. In the discussion period, comparisons were [email protected] made between traditional speeches and the new English Interactive Forum. In addition, questions Affiliate SIGs were raised about current methodologies in English classrooms and the resulting EFL communication Foreign Language Literacy—Charles Jannuzi; t/f: skills. The presenter would like to see a more commu- 0776-27-7102(h); [email protected]; or nicative classroom that would result in higher levels [email protected] of motivation and authentic language production. Other Language Educators—Rudolf Reinelt; t/f: 089- Reported by Duane Isham 927-6293(h); [email protected] Kitakyushu: January 2000—EFL Goal Orientations Gender Awareness in Language Education—Cheiron of Japanese College Students by Neil McClelland. McMahill; t: 0270-65-8511(w); f: 0270-65-9538(w); This presentation was based on a questionnaire [email protected] administered to 250 second-year college students in Yamaguchi and Fukuoka Prefectures and follow-up Forming SIGs interviews. Having long believed that Gardner’s find- ings on instrumental and integrative motivation Pragmatics—Yuri Kite; [email protected]; Eton Churchill; were not applicable to EFL students, he built upon [email protected]; Sayoko Yamashita; t/f: 03- the research of Clement, Dornyei, and others to 5803-5908(w); [email protected] design a questionnaire to elicit the most likely rea- Applied Linguistics—Thom Simmons; t/f: 045-845- 8242; [email protected] sons for his students studying English. Using the Cross-cultural Behavior & Intercultural Communica- Varimax Rotated Factor Pattern Matrix, he identified tion—David Brooks; t: 042-778-8052(w); f: 042-778- seven orientations listed here in order of descending 9233; [email protected] student endorsement: travel, xenophilia (love of foreigners), English media, personal development (perhaps better defined as meeting societal expecta- tions), socio-cultural identification, and curricular importance. Average student responses in each cat- egory, based on a Likert Scale with 5 for strongly Chapter Reports agree and 1 for strongly disagree, ranged from 4.1 to 2.9. McClelland attributes the neutral response to edited by diane pelyk questions dealing with identification (integration) Ibaraki: January 2000—Adding “E” Factors to Stu- to lack of experience with native English speakers dent Evaluation by Bob Betts and Goodbye Speech particularly from English-speaking countries. Contest—Hello Interactive English by Roger Because of students’ low regard for the pragmatic Pattimore. Betts, the first presenter, has tried to value of English, the presenter recommends that, at develop an objective grading system for EFL teach- the syllabus level, teachers should capitalize on stu- ers. It consists of several categories: attendance (20%), dents’ interest in movies and pop songs as well as class participation (30%), tests (30%), and miscella- lifestyles around the world, with practice in asking neous projects, reports, and homework (20%). The about and describing ways of life. Because students presenter strove for a system in which the students see English as a bridge to the rest of the world, there were required to do various activities that resulted in should be less stress on adopting the accent, usage, an accumulation of points in each category. The or body language of a particular English-speaking students’ grades were then calculated from com- country. puter-generated spreadsheets. To inform them of Reported by Margaret Orleans their standing relative to other class members, the Nagoya: December 1999—Using Self-Talk and Visu- students were given a grade sheet containing their alization Independently by Takasu Mie. It has been personal score and the highest score of the class. The estimated that every year about 13,000 returnee audience agreed that oral English can actually be students come back to Japan after living overseas
30 The Language Teacher 24:4 Chapter Reports
with their parents. Takasu, herself a returnee, first suggests, it is a cross between theatre and sports. gave a personal account of some of the problems Teams of actors compete in performing improvised faced by such students when they reenter Japanese scenes where the characters and settings have been society. Then the presenter dealt with a problem decided by members of the audience. Other audi- which was of particular concern to many returnees. ence members judge the performances. On returning to Japan, she found that opportunities At first, the presenters introduced simple ways of to converse with native or near-native speakers were injecting drama and energy into normal classroom very few. She was also afraid of losing the English she activities. Rearranging furniture both raises energy had acquired while living overseas. She then illus- levels and breaks the traditional dynamic of the trated the notion of self-talk, a means by which she teacher as performer and students as audience. Im- was able to ensure daily English practice by convers- provisation, like real-life, has no script, so the pre- ing with herself. She invited the audience to try it senters suggested removing the dialogue whenever themselves. possible. Self-talk has several advantages: It can be done at During the second half, the presenters introduced any time and is free of the pressure that face-to-face five games adapted for EFL teaching. The simplest conversation may involve. However, Takasu cau- was the Alphabet Game where succeeding speakers tioned that self-talk is by no means a cure-all and has started their utterance with the next letter of the the disadvantage of a lack of input. This shortcom- alphabet. A lot more challenging was the Counting ing aside, self-talk may both be a valuable aid to the Words Game. Players choose one card each which development of fluency and one that any language gives them the number of words they are allowed in learner can use. each utterance. The most difficult game was the Reported by Bob Jones Endowments Party. All but the host must perform a Shinshu: January 2000—The Music in Language and different emotion decided by the audience mem- the Language in Music by Racana Hayes. Hayes bers. Then the host must guess the emotion within demonstrated how simple chants, poetry, stories, a specified time limit. and songs provide great resources for integrating During all of these activities, everyone is involved. language with music, movement and drama. The The student audience decides crucial aspects of the activities introduced and tried out by the partici- performance, acts as timekeepers and scores differ- pants were mainly based on Carl Orff’s “Orff ent performances. The teacher is merely a facilitator Schulwerk” methodology which integrates music with the learners doing the rest. and language. Aspects of songs are broken down into Reported by Barbara Geraghty basic building blocks such as beat, rhythm, lyrics, Tokyo: January 2000—Using L1 in EFL in Japanese and melody, so that learners can master them in Classrooms by Hosoda Yuri. Hosoda began by divid- steps according to their level. Lyrics, for instance, are ing the audience into groups to discuss three ques- learned separately from the melody so that one is not tions. How much do we use the students’ L1 in the overwhelmed by doing two tasks at once for the first classroom? How do teachers feel about using the time. Music is a non-threatening way to help learn- students’ L1? What are the advantages and disadvan- ers acquire language skills such as rhyme, spelling, tages of using students’ L1 in an EFL classroom? hard-to-pronounce sounds, descriptive phrases, ant- Lively discussions ensued with a variety of opinions onyms, and various grammatical items. A lot of expressed. Hosoda then continued by examining repetition is used for reinforcement but in such a way the academic literature concerning this topic. It that it never becomes boring. In fact, even those proved to be a controversial area with arguments participants with no formal training in music seemed both for and against language code switching. Next, to have enjoyed learning new songs, chants, stories, the presenter examined her own research in this area and their accompanying activities. which concerned a Japanese teacher of business, Reported by Mary Aruga English. After a full explanation of her approach Shizuoka: September 1999—Improv Your Classes by through the imaginative use of video and discourse Louise Heal and James Welker. Heal and Welker gave analysis, Hosoda came to the conclusion that code an action-packed workshop on using drama in lan- switching by the teacher maintained the flow of guage classes. They use an adaptation of improvisa- interactions during the lesson. L1 can be used to give tion or improv, a form of theatre in which actors explanations and instructions, to focus attention, create the action and dialogue as they perform. In and provide feedback. “spot” improv, the actors and audience work to- Reported by Roger Jones gether to make a piece of theatre. Using improvisa- West Tokyo: January 2000—Bilingualism and Bi- tion in the EFL classroom develops students’ cultural Symposium: English Immersion Curricu- adaptability, listening, and speed of reaction. lum by Michael Bostwick; Second Language “TheatreSports” is a version of improvisation in- Processing by Yumoto Kazuko; and Biculturalism vented by Keith Johnstone in the 1960s. As the name at Home and Work by David Brooks, Yamaguchi
April 2000 31 Chapter Reports/Chapter Meetings
Shizuko, and Tomoko Brooks Yamaguchi. Bostwick spoke on the English immersion program Katoh Chapter Meetings Gakuen (in Shizuoka) has implemented. He also edited by tom merner presented data collected over the first seven years of the program that provided a clear picture of how the Akita—After a long winter vacation we will resume students in the immersion program fared on stan- our activities; a meeting every month until Novem- dardized tests, as compared to students in the regular ber. The first meeting will be held most probably at school program. Almost without exception, the sta- MSU-A; Saturday April 22, 14:00-16:00. Information tistics showed that there was no significant differ- about the speaker and subject will be provided later. ence in mastery of both language skills and content Takeshi Suzuki, Akita chapter president. matter between both groups. Bostwick also touched 長い冬休みの後、今年度の活動を再開します。4月から11月まで on socio-educational and linguistic constraints of 毎月一度は皆で集まって、楽しくやりましょう。今月は2 2 日土曜 the program. Possible intervening variables included 日を予定しております。講演者、内容に関しては後ほどE メール student and parental response to the program and でご連絡します。 the linguistic distance between the English and Chiba—How testing affects the quality of English Japanese languages. The research suggests that stu- Language Education in Japan by Simon Himbury, dents can and do perform at least as well in all Shumei University and Aoyama Gakuin University. subjects whether the learning is done in their first or This presentation will demonstrate the widespread second language. His findings are contrary to the use of testing and its effects on English language popularly held idea that students operate in a second education in Japan. It will identify problem areas language at the expense of their L1. and suggest changes in the types of testing instru- Yumoto Kazuko discussed how Japanese children ments used in order to improve all facets of the process language as they learn English. She covered current system of English education. Sunday April 16, a variety of learning and communication strategies, 11:00-13:00; Chiba Community Center (take JR mono- including simplification, code-switching, and rail from Chiba station to Chiba-shiyakushomae); one- relexification. day members 500 yen. The bilingual and bicultural Brooks family dis- 日本において広く使われている試験とその英語教育に及ぼす影 cussed the interplay of various factors such as moti- 響、また、問題点を指摘するとともに英語教育の改善のための試 vation and necessity, language environment and 験方法の改善案を提案します。 home life, extended family, schooling and educa- Fukuoka—Classroom Management: Making the First tion, extracurricular activities, and visits abroad in Class Work for You the Whole Semester by Joe the development of bilingual and biliterate children. Tomei. The first class is an ideal opportunity to set the Briefly, the goal had been to raise simultaneous tone of the course. The presenter, who has 10 years of bilingual children with equal competence in English teaching experience in Japan, will be discussing ways and Japanese. Achieving this goal was enhanced by to make this first class pay dividends throughout the the following important beneficial factors: living in year. Even if you’ve already held your first class of the an extended family here in Japan; early schooling in current academic year, you can still apply these useful English at Nishimachi International School, which insights in your second one. Sunday April 23, 14:00- emphasized Japanese by teaching it as a first lan- 17:00, Aso Foreign Language College (near Hakata Sta- guage, secondary schooling at The American School tion); one-day members 1000 yen. in Japan, then university education at International Gifu—Activities for Active Classes by Robert Habbick, Christian University, where both English and Japa- Oxford University Press. This workshop will present nese are extensively used; active participation by a variety of new activities for kindergarten and both parents in language development; exclusive elementary school-aged children. The activities can use of the native language by the parents (father used be adapted to your particular class and teaching only English, mother only Japanese); and a well- situation. There will be a book display and prizes. rounded education with music, arts, sports, and Come join the fun. Sunday April 23, 14:00-17:00; The academics. It was noted that each case of family Dream Theater (http://www.mirai.ne.jp/~dorigif/ bilingualism is quite unique, so there is often diffi- ana2.htm) Gifu City; free for all. culty in making comparisons. 幼稚園から小学校の児童までが楽しめるアクティビティーを紹 Reported by Peter J. Collins 介します。 Gunma—The English Translation of the Jomo Karuta cards by Zenji Inamura, Gunma National College of Did you know Technology. The presenter will discuss some of the JALT offers research grants? English version Jomo Karuta reading cards he trans- For details, lated, in comparison with the original Japanese contact the JALT Central Office. verses, and also examine some of the English verses which turned out not to appear in print. Lastly, the
32 The Language Teacher 24:4 Chapter Meetings
attendees will try the game to find out if the players newsletter. Saturday April 8, 19:00-21:00, Kitakyushu can carry it off, as in playing the Japanese Jomo International Conference Center, room 31; one-day mem- Karuta cards. Sunday April 16, 14:00-16:30; Maebashi bers 500 yen. Kyoai Gakuen College (t: 027-266-7575); one-day mem- Kobe—Implementing Task-based Language Teaching bers 1000 yen, students 200 yen, newcomers free. by David Beglar, Temple University, Japan. The aims Hiroshima—Teaching Children with Letterland by of this presentation are to briefly review research- Mieko Kageyama and Douglas Corin, author of based support for Task-based Language Teaching, Letterland books. The speakers will be presenting present an organizational framework, and illustrate some of their ideas for teaching native children the framework with an example of task-based teach- English. Fun activities that will be especially useful ing which has been implemented in a Japanese uni- for those interested in teaching native and nonna- versity. Finally, potential weaknesses of the approach tive children in a fun and interesting way. Sunday and possible remedies will be discussed. Sunday April April 16, 15:00-17:00; International Conference Center 23, 13:30-16:30; Kobe YMCA 4F LETS. (Peace Park) 3F; one-day members 500 yen. 神戸—『なにわ英語道の真髄』松本道弘講演会。ゲスト: 井後尚久(種 Hokkaido—A Crash Course in Teaching Public Speak- 芸種智院大学非常勤講師)、ベルギー人国費留学生2人。(1) 同時通 ing by Dennis Woolbright, from Seinan Women’s 訳をディベートに結びつけたのは宮本武の実践哲学だ (2) プロの通 Junior College. Sunday April 30, 13:00-16:00; Hokkaido 訳の道はボランティア通訳から (3) 松本道弘先生実演による同時通 International School (5 minute walk from Sumikawa 訳のデモンストレーション (4) 質疑応答。4月22日(土)午前10時̃ Station); one-day members 1000 yen. 正午(講演)、午後12時半̃2時頃(懇親会)。ぱ・る・るプラザ京都カ 西南女学院短期大学のデニス・ウルブライト氏が、「パブリッ ルチャールーム ( J R 京都駅東隣、ホテル「グランヴィア京都」 ク・スピーキング入門のための盛り沢山コース」という演題で講 前)、2,500円(税別。講演のみ参加、定員80名) 懇親会は別途1,500 演します。 円(税別)、希望者のみ。ぱ・る・るプラザ京都カルチャールーム。 Ibaraki—Weekend Action Research Retreat: Teacher 協賛: JALT神戸。 Autonomy, Learner Autonomy. A series of partici- Matsuyama—The Teaching of the 4 Languages Ko- pant-centered workshops on action research, led by rean, German, French and Spanish in 4 Different Andy Curtis from Hong Kong in association with the Teaching Contexts by Rudolf Reinelt (coordinator). Teacher Education and Learner Development SIGs. Four presentations will be given by four speakers Workshops will be geared to people both new to and about the teaching of Korean, German, French and familiar with action research. Plenty of time and Spanish in 4 different teaching contexts (national chances for networking and socializing. Saturday university, college, private university part time and April 22-Sunday April 23; British Hills near the Shin private classes) and with 4 different teaching meth- Shirakawa Shinkansen stop in Fukushima. For further ods (textbook, computer, culture learning, and con- details contact Martin Pauly; t: 0298-58-9523; versation) respectively. Anyone interested is cordially [email protected]. invited. Sunday April 9, 14:00-17:00; Shinonome High Kagoshima—English Only Rule Revisited by Reiko School Kinenkan 4F (on Rope way Street near Matsuyama Mori, I.D. Foreign Languages Institute. This study Castle); one-day members 1000 yen. examines one ESL teacher’s practice of an English only 韓国語、ドイツ語、フランス語、スペイン語の4 カ国語をそれぞ rule. Using qualitative data, it demonstrates how れ国立大学教授、高専、私立大学非常勤、私塾の4つの指導環境の genuine opportunities to communicate were gener- もと、教科書主体、パソコン使用から文化理解、会話重視型の4つ ated because of the English only rule and how these の指導法で教授している実例を4人の講演者が紹介します。 opportunities involved the teacher and the students Miyazaki—Making Your Class More Interactive collaboratively achieving a more precise understand- Through Strategic Interactions by Robert Long, ing of issues at hand. Saturday April 22, 14:00-16:00 Kyushu Institute of Technology. This presentation is (informal gathering afterwards); Iris Kyuden Plaza (2nd about moving students from proficiency to compe- floor of the I’m Bldg); one-day members 500 yen. tency. The presenter will first discuss relevant back- Kanazawa—English Activities for Young Learners by ground about Robert DiPietro’s communicative Alastair Graham-Marr, ABAX, Ltd. The presenter, co- approach of Strategic Interactions, contending that author of ABAX Ltd’s What’s in the Cards and interactive competency comes by casting students in Photocopiable Pairworks for Children, will offer a vari- a variety of roles and episodes based on or taken from ety of card-based and other activities that can be used real life. Various gambits, which have been success- to enliven children’s English classes and stimulate fully used in one college setting, will then be modeled. students who are just beginning their study of En- Saturday April 8, 14:00-16:00; Miyazaki Municipal Uni- glish. Activities which promote Letter Recognition, versity (Kouritsu Daigaku); one-day members 750 yen. Phonics and Sound Discrimination, and Vocabulary Nagasaki—Pre Debate Activities for the Inexperienced, and Spelling will be featured. Sunday April 23, Shakai by Charles LeBeau, author of Discover Debate. This Kyoiku Center (4F); one-day members 600 yen. workshop will present a variety of short, simple pre- Kitakyushu—Classroom Activities by John Moore. debate activities that focus on the speaking, listening, Details will be announced in the Kitakyushu JALT and thinking aspects of debate, yet require no outside
April 2000 33 Chapter Meetings
preparation by students. Activities will be selected by Abigail Strong, Kanda University of International from the presenter’s new book, Discover Debate. These Studies, and Eric Gustavsen, Tokyo Jogakkan Junior activities are targeted for high school and university College. A follow-up discussion will conclude the students, as well as adults and business people. Sunday event. Sunday April 16, 13:00-17:00; Tokyo Jogakkan April 23, 13:30-16:30; Nagasaki Shimin Kaikan; one-day Junior College (12-min. walk from Minami Machida on members 1000 yen, students 500 yen. Denen Toshi Line); free to all. Nagoya—Humour in the Classroom by Mark Bailey, Yamagata—Language, Allegory, and History by former DJ for Zip FM and comedian from New York, Michael Hnatko, Sendai New Day School. Using a currently a professor at Nagoya University of Foreign few scenes from the movie Mystery Train by Jim Studies. Sunday April 9, 13:30-16:00; Nagoya Interna- Jarmusch, the presenter will show the development tional Centre 3rd floor Rm. 2; one-day members 1000 yen. of language through history in an allegorical setting. Niigata—All Together Now! Co-operative Games by The information in the presentation has many appli- Chris Hunt. Games can be an empowering pathway to cations and can be used for stimulating discussion in learning, especially for children. But all games are not the language class or training language teachers. the same. The usefulness of a game for learning Sunday April 9, 13:00-15:30; Yamagata Kajo Kominkan purposes can be measured by the lack of competitive- (t: 0236-43-2687); one-day members 700 yen. ness that it contains. Join Chris Hunt to discover why. Yokohama—Drama and ESL by Nathalie Lewis. Discover how to make the games in your classes more Drama theory and activities for ESL will be pre- fun and more useful by making them co-operative. sented. This study will focus on research based on Sunday April 9, 10:30-13:00; Niigata International Friend- Stanislavsky, John Kirk and Ralph Bellas. In what ship Centre, 3F; one-day members 1000 yen. way is learning a language the learning of a role, and 学習におけるゲームの有効性は、競争的な側面の少なさによっ how can we as teachers be more like directors in the てはかれるものと講演者が論じます。ご参加になり、その理由と ESL classroom? Sunday April 9, 14:00-16:30; Gino 協調的なゲームを取り入れることにより、授業をより楽しく有効 Bunka Kaikan, 6F; one-day members 1000 yen. なものにする方法をお確かめください。 演劇理論とE S L 指導アクティビティーに関する講演。役割につ Omiya—Mystery Train: Video for Cultural Under- いての学習と語学学習を関連づけ、教師がいかに授業の中で監督 standing by Michael Hnatko. The presenter will のようになれるかについて論じます。 show a revolutionary way to discuss one of the questions most often discussed in language classes in Chapter Contacts Japan: cultural differences between Japan and other countries. Material includes a few scenes from the People wishing to get in touch with chapters for information movie Mystery Train. Audience will participate like can use the following list of contacts. Chapters wishing to language learners. This is a presentation not to be make alterations to their listed contact person should send all information to the editor: Tom Merner; t/f: 045-822-6623; missed. Sunday April 16 14:00-17:00; Omiya Jack (near [email protected]. Omiya JR station, west exit); one-day members 1000 yen. 映画「ミステリートレイン」を使い、語学の授業の中で、もっ Akita—Suzuki Takeshi; t: 0184-22-1562; とも話題に上る幾つかの文化の相違について画期的な方法で議論 [email protected] を進めます。 Chiba—Yukiko Watanabe; [email protected] Osaka—Pragmatics: Recent Research and Approaches Fukui—Maurice L. Splichal; t/f: 0776-66-6833; to the Classroom by Eton Churchill, Kyoto Nishi [email protected] High School. This workshop will introduce pragmat- Fukuoka—Kevin O’Leary; t: 0942-32-0101; f: 0942-22- ics and its relevance in both research and classroom 2221; [email protected]; website http://kyushu.com/ practice. Various research instruments and chal- jalt/events.html lenges in doing research in pragmatics will be illus- Gifu (Affiliate Chapter)—Paul Doyon; t: 058-329- trated. Later, ways and materials to teach pragmatics 1328, f: 058-326-2607; [email protected] will be examined, along with teachability and poten- Gunma—Wayne Pennington; t/f: 027-283-8984; jk1w- tial action research. Be invited to the forming Prag- [email protected] matics SIG. Sunday April 16, 14:00-16:30; Abeno YMCA, Hamamatsu—Brendan Lyons; t/f: 053-454-4649; [email protected] 5 minutes east of JR Tennoji; one-day members 1000 yen. Himeji—William Balsamo; t: 0792-54-5711; West Tokyo—Cross-Cultural Awareness in the Class- [email protected] room, co-sponsored by the newly forming Culture Hiroshima—Joy Jarman-Walsh; t: 082-878-9931; SIG and Oxford University Press. This event offers [email protected] three presentations: (A) Using Videos to Enhance Stu- Hokkaido—Alan Cogen; t: 011-571-5111 ext 464; dent Empathy and Cultural Awareness by Yuko Hirodo, [email protected]; http://www2.crosswinds.net/ Ake No Hoshi Women’s Junior College; (B) Activating ~hyrejalthokkaido/JALTPage/ Learning: New Directions in Syllabus Design by Chris Ibaraki—Martin Pauly; t: 0298-58-9523; f: 0298-58- Balderston, Editor for Oxford University Press; and 9529; [email protected] (C) Cross-Cultural Development in Curriculum Design Kagoshima—Nick Walters; t: 099-273-5896; 099-273-
34 The Language Teacher 24:4 Chapter Contacts/Conference Calendar
5896; t: 099-285-7447; [email protected] Kanazawa—Bill Holden; t: 076-229-6140(w), 229- Conference Calendar 5608(h); [email protected]; website http:// edited by lynne roecklein & kakutani tomoko www.jaist.ac.jp/~mark/jalt.html Kitakyushu—Chris Carman; t: 093-603-1611(w); 592- We welcome new listings. Please submit information in 2883(h); [email protected]; website http:// Japanese or English to the respective editor by the 15th of the www.seafolk.ne.jp/kqjalt/ month, at least three months ahead (four months for over- Kobe—Brent Jones; t/f: 0797-31-2068; [email protected] seas conferences). Thus, April 15th is the deadline for a July Kumamoto—Andrew Shaffer; t: 096-339-1952; conference in Japan or an August conference overseas, espe- [email protected] cially when the conference is early in the month. Kyoto—Ishikawa Katsumi; t: 075-581-3422; f: 593- 6988; [email protected] Upcoming Conferences Matsuyama—Robert Oettel; t: 089-941-4136; f: 089- 931-4973; [email protected] April 12-14, 2000—A Virtual Odyssey: What’s Ahead Miyazaki—Sylvan Payne; t: 0985-85-5931; f: 0985-84- for New Technologies in Learning?—5th Annual 3396; [email protected] Teaching in the Community Colleges (TCC) Online Nagasaki—Tim Allan; t/f: 095-824-6580; Conference. The TCC Online Conference is one of [email protected]; Shiina Katsunobu; t/f: 095-861- the largest and most practical of the yearly online 5356; [email protected] conferences, with papers, real-time discussions, and Nagoya—Claire Gelder; t: 052 781 0165; f: 052-781 much more over every aspect of online learning/ 4334; [email protected] teaching and administration. For general informa- Nara—Larry Chin; t: 0745-73-5377; f: 0745-73-2453; tion regarding TCC conferences and registration, go [email protected] to the conference homepage at http:// Niigata—Robin Nagano; t/f: 0258-47-9810; leahi.kcc.hawaii.edu/org/tcon2000. Human inter- [email protected] Okayama—Peter Burden; t/f: 086 293 3545; burden- faces? Write Jim Shimabukuro ([email protected]) [email protected] or Bert Kimura ([email protected]). Okinawa—John Dickson; t/f: 098-893-7557; May 19-20, 2000—V Conference on Applied Linguis- [email protected] tics (Psychological Issues), hosted by The Graduate Omiya—Okada Chikahiko; t/f: 047-377-4695; Program in Applied Linguistics and the Department [email protected]; Mary Grove; t: 048-644- of Languages of the University of the Americas - 5400; [email protected] Puebla in Mexico. Papers, workshops and poster Osaka—Nakamura Kimiko; t/f: 06-376-3741; presentations on topics in applied linguistics with a [email protected] focus on second language acquisition and teaching Sendai—John Wiltshier; t: 0225-88-3832; in relation to this year’s conference theme, psycho- [email protected] logical issues. For more information, see the confer- Shinshu—Mary Aruga; t: 0266-27-3894; ence website at http://www.lang.uiuc.edu/LLL/ [email protected] resources/mexico.html, email Peter Ecke at Shizuoka—Amy Hawley; t/f: 054-248-5090; [email protected] or contact the Departamento [email protected] de Lenguas, Universidad de las Americas- Puebla, Sta. Tochigi—Jim Chambers; t/f: 028-627-1858; Catarina Mertir, Puebla 72820, Mexico; t: 52-2-229- [email protected] 3105; f: 52-2-229-3105. Tokushima—Meg Ishida; [email protected] Tokyo—Beth Kerrison; [email protected]; May 20-21, 2000—CUE Miniconference—Content Suzuki Takako; t/f: 0424-61-1460 and Foreign Language Education: Looking at the Toyohashi—Laura Kusaka; t: 0532-88-2658; Future, will take place at Keisen University, Tama [email protected] Center, Tokyo, sponsored by the JALT College and West Tokyo—Kobayashi Etsuo; t: 042-366-2947; University Educator’s SIG (CUE). Presentations, poster [email protected]; website http://home.att.ne.jp/ sessions, and plenaries will address how content- gold/db/wtcal.hmtl centered approaches to language learning, including Yamagata—Sugawara Fumio; t/f: 0238-85-2468 content- and theme-based education, sheltered learn- Yamaguchi—Shima Yukiko; t: 0836-88-5421; ing, content classes taught in the learner’s second [email protected] language, and possibly skill-based learning and the Yokohama—Ron Thornton; t/f: 0467-31-2797; learning of foreign languages for specific purposes [email protected] are being implemented in Japan and neighboring countries, what issues arise from their implementa- tion, and what future they have. Collaborative hands- on workshops are planned for the second day between experienced and neophyte participants to help par- ticipants conceive, plan, and implement their own content-centered courses. Details and online pro-
April 2000 35 Conference Calendar/JIC
posal submission through wild-e.org/cue/confer- ences/content.html, or contact CUE Program Chair Job Information Center Eamon McCafferty ([email protected]). edited by bettina begole and natsue duggan Calls for Papers/Posters To list a position in The Language Teacher, please fax or email Bettina Begole, Job Information Center, at (in order of DEADLINES) [email protected] or call 0857-87-0858. Please email April 15, 2000 (for Sept. 7-10, 2000)—Second Language rather than fax, if possible. The notice should be received before the 15th of the month, two months before publica- Research: Past, Present, and Future, U. of Wisconsin tion, and contain the following information: city and pre- Madison. Papers and posters are invited on any aspect fecture, name of institution, title of position, whether full- of second language research, especially theories, re- or part-time, qualifications, duties, salary and benefits, search methodologies, the relation of such research to application materials, deadline, and contact information. A the L2 classroom, and interdisciplinary approaches to special form is not necessary. L2 research. Plenary speakers will include Ellen Bialystok of York Univ. on cognitive perspectives on Fukuoka-ken—The Kyushu Institute of Technology, L2 research, Claire Kramsch of UC-Berkeley on the Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineer- contribution of foreign language learning to L2 re- ing in Iizuka-shi invites applications for a full-time search, and Bonny Norton of the Univ. of British associate professor of English to begin in October Columbia on non-participation, communities, and 2000. Qualifications: Applicants should have na- the language classroom. Submission forms available tive-speaker competency in English and an MA or at http://mendota.english. wisc.edu/~SLRF/. Inquir- higher in pedagogy or a closely related field. Prefer- ies should be sent to slrf2000 @studentorg.wisc.edu. ence will be given to candidates with strong experi- May 15, 2000 (for November 11-13, 2000)—Teaching ence in TESOL or foreign language education, Languages and Cultures for the New Era: The experience in classroom pedagogy, course develop- Eighth International Symposium and Book Fair on ment, testing analysis and evaluation, and/or educa- English Teaching, sponsored by the English Teach- tional statistics, experience and/or interest in teacher ers’ Association of the Republic of China. Paper, training and/or educational technology and its ap- workshop, colloquia, or panel discussion proposals plication to foreign language education. The ability are invited on the themes of Language and Culture, to carry on daily conversations with Japanese col- Literature, Research, Classroom Methods and Prac- leagues and teach humanities courses in the Japa- tice, or Technology. Complete submission informa- nese language are highly desirable. Duties: Teach tion and forms available on the conference website four 90-minute English courses and one humanities at http://helios.fl.nthu.edu.tw/~eta. For more infor- course related to his or her specialty field per week to mation, contact Johanna E. Katchen; Department of engineering students, conduct research, perform Foreign Languages and Literature, National Tsing administrative duties, and work collaboratively with Hua University, Hsinchu 30043, Taiwan; f: 886-3- university faculty. Salary & Benefits: The successful 5718977, or email her at [email protected]. candidate will be provided the same salary and benefits as Japanese counterparts, based on the Min- Reminders—conferences istry of Education scale. One-time relocation ex- penses will be partially reimbursed by the Institute. April 27-29, 2000—Sociolinguistics Symposium Contract term is for three years, renewable depend- 2000: The Interface between Linguistics and So- ing on job performance. Application Materials: cial Theory, at UWE—Bristol, Bristol, UK. More Complete resume, copies of degree certificates, gradu- information at www.uwe.ac.uk/facults/les/research/ ate and undergraduate transcripts, a list of publica- sociling2000.html or from Jessa Karki (administra- tions including three major publications, verification tive) or Jeanine Treffers-Daller (academic); Centre of past employment, a short description of teaching for European Studies (CES), Faculty of Languages and research interests, and three letters of recom- and European Studies, University of the West of mendation. Deadline: April 30, 2000. Contact: England—Bristol, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Mariko Goto; Department of Human Sciences, Fac- Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK; [email protected]; t: ulty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, 44-117-976-3842, ext 2724; f: 44-117-976-2626. Kyushu Institute of Technology, 680-4 Kawazu, June 15-18, 2000—People, Languages and Cultures Iizuka, Fukuoka-ken 820-8502; t: 0948-29-7868; f: in the Third Millennium, the third international 0948-29-7851; [email protected]. FELTA (Far Eastern Language Teachers Association) Niigata-ken—The International University of Japan in conference, at Far Eastern State University, Yamato-machi is looking for temporary English in- Vladivostok, Russia. Contact Stephen Ryan at RX1S- structors to teach in its Intensive English Program [email protected] or f: 0726-24-2793 for confer- from July 18 to September 20, 2000. Qualifications: ence information and travel plans. MA or equivalent in TESL/TEFL or related field. Expe-
36 The Language Teacher 24:4 JIC
rience with intermediate students and intensive pro- Kyoto, and 10 minutes by bus. Qualifications: MA grams is highly desirable. Experience with programs and college teaching experience. Duties: Teach two in international relations, international management, koma on Tuesday mornings (8:50-12:00) and/or two or cross-cultural communication is also desirable. koma on Thursday mornings (8:50-12:00). Salary & Familiarity with Windows computers is required. Benefits: 8,000-12,000 yen per koma, depending on Duties: Teach intermediate-level graduate students qualifications, transportation fee. Application Ma- up to 16 hours/week, assist in testing and material terials: Resume. Contact: Walter Klinger; Univer- preparation, attend meetings, write short student sity of Shiga Prefecture, 2500 Hassaka-cho, reports, participate in extra-curricular activities. Con- Hikone-shi 522-8533; t: 0749-28-8267; f: 0749-28- tract period is for nine weeks: eight days orientation 8480; wklinger @ice.usp.ac.jp; www2.ice.usp.ac.jp/ and debriefing and eight weeks teaching. Salary & wklinger/. Benefits: 850,000 yen gross, with free accommoda- Taiwan—The Department of Applied Foreign Lan- tion provided on or near the campus. Transportation guages at Yung Ta Institute of Technology is seeking costs refunded soon after arrival. No health insurance a full-time faculty member to begin August 1, 2000. provided. Application Materials: Current CV and The Institute is located in the southern part of cover letter. Deadline: April 15 (or as soon as possible). Taiwan, 45 km southeast of Kaohsiung. Qualifica- Contact: Mitsuko Nakajima, IEP Administrative Co- tions: Native-speaker competency with MA or PhD. ordinator; International University of Japan, Yamato- Duties: An instructor (with an MA) teaches 12 machi, Minami Uonuma-gun, Niigata-ken 949-7277; hours per week plus other committee work; an mitsukon@iuj. ac.jp. assistant professor (with PhD) teaches 11 hours per Osaka-fu—SIO Japan is seeking part- and full-time week plus other committee work. Salary & Ben- English instructors to work in central and northern efits: Salary based on rank; an instructor earns Osaka. Qualifications: Some Japanese ability and about NT$52,100 per month; an assistant professor computer skills; a degree is valuable but not manda- earns about NT$64,700 per month; annual bonus of tory. Salary & Benefits: Stock options included. one and one half months of base salary based on Contact: Robert Pretty; SIO Japan; t: 0120-528310; months of service. There are also summer and [email protected]. winter breaks with pay, totaling about three and a Saitama-ken—The Department of Japanese at Daito half months. Application Materials: Resume, copy Bunka University in Tokyo is seeking a part-time of transcript, copy of diploma, and two references. English teacher who can teach at the Deadline: Ongoing. Contact: Professor Carrie Chen, Higashimatsuyama campus in Saitama-ken begin- Chairperson; Department of Applied Foreign Lan- ning in April 2000. Qualifications: MA in TEFL/TESL guages, Yung Ta Institute of Technology, 316 Chung- or applied linguistics is preferred, as well as native- Shan Road, Lin-Lo, Ping-Tung, ROC; t: speaker competency in English, and teaching expe- 886-07-392-0560; f: 886-08-722-9603; rience at university-level institutions. Duties: Teach [email protected]. three 90-minute courses of English conversation on Thailand—CANHELP Thailand, a volunteer aid pro- Wednesdays between 11:10 am and 4:50 pm: two gram, is looking for volunteer teachers for its sum- courses to sophomores, and one to freshmen. Sal- mer 2000 English program in early August. Benefits: ary & Benefits: 26,000 to 30,000 yen per course, A valuable professional development opportunity depending on teaching experience and education; for those who volunteer. Deadline: May 15, 2000. transportation fee is provided with a maximum Contact: Su Carbery; t/f: 042-791-6940; limit of 4,000 yen per trip to school. Application [email protected]. ne.jp. Materials: Resume, including birth date; a list of publications, references, one passport-size photo- graph, photocopies of diplomas, and a cover letter, including a short description of courses taught and how they have been taught. Deadline: Ongoing. 差別に関する Contact: Etsuo Taguchi; 20-8 Mizohata-cho, Sakado- The Language Teacher shi, Saitama-ken 350-0274; t/f: 0492-81-8272; Job Information Center の方針 [email protected]. Other information: Higashimatsuyama campus is in Higashimatsuyama- 私たちは、日本国の法規、国際法、一般的良識に従い、差別用語と 雇用差別に反対します。JIC/Positions コラムの求人広告は、原則と shi. To get to the campus, take the Tobu Tojo Line して、性別、年令、人種、宗教、出身国による条件は掲載しませ to Takasaka station, about 50 minutes from ん。（例えば、イギリス人、アメリカ人というよりは、ネイティブ Ikebukuro station. 並の語学力という表現をお使いください。) これらの条件が法的に要 Shiga-ken—The University of Shiga in Hikone-shi is 求されているなど、やむをえない理由のある場合は、下記の用紙の seeking a part-time English teacher for first-year 「その他の条件」の欄に、その理由とともにお書きください。編集 university students to begin April 2000. The cam- 者は、この方針にそぐわない求人広告を編集したり、書き直しをお pus is located about one hour on local train from 願いしたりする権利を留保します。
April 2000 37 Submissions
The editors welcome submissions of materials prior to publication, to allow time to request name. For specific guidelines contact the concerned with all aspects of language teach- a response to appear in the same issue, if Chapter Reports editor. Deadline: 15th of the ing, particularly with relevance to Japan. All appropriate. TLT will not publish anony- month, 2 months prior to publication. English language copy must be typed, double mous correspondence unless there is a com- 地方支部会の会合での発表の報告です。長さは原稿 spaced, on A4-sized paper, with three pelling reason to do so, and then only if the 用紙2枚から４枚。原稿の冒頭に (a) 支部会名、(b) 発 centimetre margins. Manuscripts should fol- correspondent is known to the editor. 表の題名、(c) 発表者名を明記し、(d) 発表がいつ行わ low the American Psychological Association The Language Teacher に掲載された記事などへの れたかが分かる表現を含めてください。また、(e) 文 (APA) style as it appears in The Language Teacher. 意見をお寄せください。長さは1,000字以内、締切 末に報告執筆者名をお書きください。締切は、掲載 The editors reserve the right to edit all copy for は、掲載をご希望になる号の発行月の3カ月前の15日 をご希望になる号の発行月の2 カ月前の1 5 日に length, style, and clarity, without prior notifi- に日本語編集者必着です。編集者が必要と判断した Chapter Reports 編集者必着です。日本語の報告は cation to authors. Deadlines indicated below. 場合は、関係者に、それに対する反論の執筆を依頼 Chapter Reports日本語編集者にお送りください。 日本語記事の投稿要領：編集者は、外国語教育に関 し、同じ号に両方の意見を掲載します。 Chapter Meetings. Chapters must follow する、あらゆる話題の記事の投稿を歓迎します。原 Conference Reports. If you will be attending the precise format used in every issue of TLT 稿は、なるべくA 4 版用紙を使用してください。ワー an international or regional conference and (i.e., topic, speaker, date, time, place, fee, プロ、原稿用紙への手書きに関わりなく、頁数を打 are able to write a report of up to 1,500 words, and other information in order, followed by ち、段落の最初は必ず１文字空け、１行2 7 字、横書 please contact the editor. a brief, objective description of the event). きでお願いいたします。１頁の行数は、特に指定し 言語教育に関連する学会の国際大会等に参加する予 Maps of new locations can be printed upon ませんが、行間はなるべく広めにおとりください。 定の方で、その報告を執筆したい方は、日本語編集 consultation with the column editor. Meet- The Language Teacher は、American Psychologi- 者にご相談ください。長さは原稿用紙8枚程度です。 ings that are scheduled for the first week of cal Association (APA) のスタイルに従っています。 the month should be published in the previ- 日本語記事の注・参考文献・引用などの書き方もこれ Departments ous month’s issue. Announcements or re- に準じた形式でお願いします。ご不明の点は、The My Share. We invite up to 1,000 words on a quests for guidelines should be sent to the Language Teacherのバックナンバーの日本語記事をご successful teaching technique or lesson plan Chapter Meetings editor. Deadline: 15th of 参照くださるか、日本語編集者にお問い合わせくださ you have used. Readers should be able to the month, 2 months prior to publication. い。スペース等の都合でご希望に沿い兼ねる場合もあ replicate your technique or lesson plan. Send 支部の会合のお知らせです。原稿の始めに支部名 りますので、ご了承ください。編集者は、編集の都合 submissions to the “My Share” editor. を明記し、発表の題名、発表者名、日時、場所、参 上、ご投稿いただいた記事の一部を、著者に無断で変 学習活動に関する実践的なアイディアの報告を載せ 加費、問い合わせ先の担当者名と電話番号・ファク 更したり、削除したりすることがあります。 るコラムです。教育現場で幅広く利用できるもの、 ス番号を箇条書きしてください。最後に、簡単な発 進歩的な言語教育の原理を反映したものを優先的に 表の内容、発表者の�介を付け加えても結構です。 Feature Articles 採用します。絵なども入れることができますが、白 地図を掲載したい方は、Chapter Announcements English. Well written, well-documented ar- 黒で、著作権のないもの、または文書による掲載許 編集者にご相談ください。第1 週に会合を予定する ticles of up to 3,000 words in English. Pages 可があるものをお願いします。別紙に、英語のタイ 場合は、前月号に掲載することになりますので、ご should be numbered, new paragraphs in- トル、著者・所属機関のローマ字表記、200ワード程 注意ください。締切は、掲載をご希望になる号の発 dented, word count noted, and sub-headings 度の英文要旨を記入し、My Share 編集者にお送りく 行月の2カ月前の15日にChapter Announcements (bold-faced or italics) used throughout for ださい。締切は、掲載をご希望になる号の発行月の 編集者必着です。 the convenience of readers. Three copies are ２カ月前の15日必着です。 Bulletin Board. Calls for papers, participa- required. The author’s name, affiliation, and Book Reviews. We invite reviews of books tion in/announcements of conferences, col- contact details should appear on only one of and other educational materials. We do not loquia, seminars, or research projects may be the copies. An abstract of up to 150 words, publish unsolicited reviews. Contact the Pub- posted in this column. E-mail or fax your biographical information of up to 100 words, lishers’ Review Copies Liaison for submission announcements of up to 150 words to the and any photographs, tables, or drawings guidelines and the Book Reviews editor for Bulletin Board editor. Deadline: 15th of the should appear on separate sheets of paper. permission to review unlisted materials. month, 2 months prior to publication. Send all three copies to Malcolm Swanson. 書評です。原則として、その本の書かれている言 JALT以外の団体による催し物などのお知らせ、 日本語論文です。400字詰原稿用紙20枚以内。左寄 語で書くことになっています。書評を書かれる場合 JALT、あるいはそれ以外の団体による発表者、論文 せで題名を記し、その下に右寄せで著者名、改行し は、Publishers Review Copies Liaison にご相談 の募集を無料で掲載します。JALT以外の団体による て右寄せで所属機関を明記してください。章、節に ください。また、重複を避け、The Language 催し物のお知らせには、参加費に関する情報を含め 分け、太字または斜体字でそれぞれ見出しをつけて Teacher に掲載するにふさわしい本であるかどうか ることはできません。The Language Teacher 及び ください。図表・写真は、本文の中には入れず、別 を確認するため、事前に Book Review 編集者にお JALTは、この欄の広告の内容を保証することはでき 紙にし、本文の挿入箇所に印を付けてください。フ 問い合わせください。 ません。お知らせの掲載は、一つの催しにつき一 ロッピーをお送りいただく場合は、別文書でお願い 回、3 0 0 字以内とさせていただきます。締切は、掲 いたします。英語のタイトル、著者・所属機関の JALT News. All news pertaining to official 載をご希望になる号の発行月の2 カ月前の1 5 日に ローマ字表記、150ワード以内の英文要旨、100ワー JALT organizational activities should be sent Bulletin Board 編集者必着です。その後、Confer- ド以内の著者の和文略歴を別紙にお書きください。 to the JALT News editors. Deadline: 15th of the ence Calendar 欄に、毎月、短いお知らせを載せる 原本と原本のコピー２部、計３部を日本語編集者に month, 2 months prior to publication. ことはできます。ご希望の際は、Conference Cal- お送りください。査読の後、採否を決定します。 JALTによる催し物などのお知らせを掲載したい方 endar 編集者にお申し出ください。 Opinion & Perspectives. Pieces of up to , は、JALT News 編集者にご相談ください。締切は、 1 500 JIC/Positions. TLT encourages all prospective 掲載をご希望になる号の発行月の2 カ月前の1 5 日に words must be informed and of current con- employers to use this free service to locate the JALT News 編集者必着です。 cern to professionals in the language teach- most qualified language teachers in Japan. ing field. Send submissions to Bill Lee. Special Interest Group News. JALT-recognised Contact the Job Information Center editor 原稿用紙10～15枚以内。現在話題となっている事 Special Interest Groups may submit a monthly for an announcement form. Deadline for 柄への意見、問題提起などを掲載するコラムです。 report to the Special Interest Group News submitting forms: 15th of the month two 別紙に、英語のタイトル、著者・所属機関のローマ editor. Deadline: 15th of the month, 2 months months prior to publication. Publication does 字表記、英文要旨を記入し、日本語編集者にお送り prior to publication. not indicate endorsement of the institution ください。締切は、掲載をご希望になる号の発行月 JALT公認の Special Interest Group で、毎月の by JALT. It is the position of the JALT Executive の２カ月前の15日必着です。 お知らせを掲載したい方は、SIGS 編集者にご相談く Board that no positions-wanted announce- Interviews. If you are interested in interview- ださい。締切は、掲載をご希望になる号の発行月の2 ments will be printed. ing a well known professional in the field, カ月前の15日に SIGS 編集者必着です。 求人欄です。掲載したい方は、Job Information please consult the editor first. Chapter Reports. Each Chapter may submit Center/Positions 編集者にAnnouncement Form 「有名人」へのインタビュー記事です。インタ a monthly report of up to 400 words which を請求してください。締切は、掲載をご希望になる ビューをされる前に日本語編集者にご相談ください。 should (a) identify the chapter, (b) have a 号の発行月の2カ月前の15日に Job Information Readers’ Views. Responses to articles or title—usually the presentation title, (c) have Center/Positions 編集者必着です。The Language other items in TLT are invited. Submissions a by-line with the presenter’s name, (d) in- Teacher 及び JALTは、この欄の広告の内容を保証す of up to 500 words should be sent to the clude the month in which the presentation ることはできません。なお、求職広告不掲載が JALT editor by the 15th of the month, 3 months was given, (e) conclude with the reporter’s Executive Board の方針です。
38 The Language Teacher 24:4 The Language Teacher
JALT Publications Board Chair — William Acton 1-55-17 Higiriyama, Konan-ku, Yokohama 233-0015; Nagaikegami 6410-1, Hirako-cho, Owariasahi-shi, t/f: 045-822-6623 (w); [email protected] Aichi-ken 488-0872; [email protected] JALT News — Amy Hawley & Sugino Toshiko Immediate Past Editor — Bill Lee 205 Summer House, 91-2 Zenzamachi, Shizuoka-shi, Faculty of Regional Studies, Gifu University, 1-1 Shizuoka-ken 420-0842; t/f: 054-248-5090; Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193; f: 058-293-3118; [email protected]; [email protected] Sugino Toshiko: [email protected] Editor — Malcolm Swanson Bulletin Board — Brian Cullen & Saito Makiko 5-6-8 Maigaoka, Kokura Minami-ku, Kitakyushu 802- Brian Cullen: 1001 City Pia Takara Mansion, Shoken 0823; t/f: 093-962-8430 (h); [email protected] 2-1-15, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-0084; t/f: 052-711- Japanese-Language Editor — 衣川隆生 (Kinugawa Takao) 6858; English: [email protected]; 〒305-8577 つくば市天王台1-1-1 筑波大学留学生センタ－; 日本語: [email protected] t/f: 0298-53-7477 (w); [email protected] Conference Calendar — Lynne Roecklein Japanese-Language Associate Editor — 小野正樹 (Ono Lynne Roecklein: Faculty of Regional Studies, Gifu Masaki) University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193; t: 058-293- 〒305-8577 つくば市天王台1-1-1 筑波大学日本語・日本文化学 3096 (w); f: 058-293-3118 (w); [email protected] 類; Job Information Center/Positions — Bettina Begole t/f: 0298-53-7372 (w); [email protected] 436 Kuwabara, Aoya-cho, Ketaka-gun, Tottori 689- Assistant Editor — Paul Lewis 0529; [email protected] 602 New Urban Issha, 2-34 Issha, Meito-ku, Occasional Column Editors Nagoya 463-0093; t/f: 052-709-1307 (h); [email protected] Educational Innovations/Creative Course Design — TLT Online Editor — Bob Gettings Daniel J. McIntyre, Shuwa Residence #702, Hokusei Gakuen Women’s Junior College, Minami-4 4-11-7 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0031 Nishi-17, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0804; t: 011-613- Net Nuggets — Larry Davies, Nanzan University; 2488 (h); t: 011-561-7156 (w); f: 011-513-7505 (w); [email protected] [email protected] Working Papers — Joseph Tomei, Kumamoto Gakuen Column Editors University, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Oe 2-chome A Chapter in Your Life — Joyce Cunningham 5-1, Kumamoto 862-8680; t: 096-364-5161 (ext. 1410) & Miyao Mariko (w) ; f: 096-372-0702 (w); [email protected] Joyce Cunningham: Faculty of Humanities, Ibaraki University, 2-1-1 Bunkyo, Mito 310-0056; Editorial Advisory Board Torkil Christensen (Hokusei Women’s Junior College); Steve t: 029-228-8455; f: 029-228-8499; Cornwell (Osaka Jogakuin Junior College); Kathleen S. Foley English: [email protected]; (Aoyama Gakuin Women’s Junior College); Michael Furmanovsky 日本語: [email protected] (Ryukoku University); Ron Grove (Mejiro University); Wayne My Share — Scott Gardner & Oishi Harumi Johnson (Ryukoku University); Steve McGuire (Nagoya University Scott Gardner: 680-18 Higashiune, Okayama 701- of Arts); Laura MacGregor (Sophia University); Daniel J. McIntyre (University of Tokyo); Miyanaga Chieko (Kyoto Tachibana 0211; t/f: 086-281-9105; Women’s University); Tim Murphey (Nanzan University); Jill English: [email protected]; Robbins (Doshisha Women’s College); Lynne Roecklein (Gifu 日本語: [email protected] University); Sakui Keiko (Kwansei Gakuin University); Shiozawa Book Reviews — Katharine Isbell & Oda Masaki Mayumi (Ashiya Women’s Jr. College); Craig Sower (Shujitsu Women’s University); Tamara Swenson (Osaka Jogakuin Junior Send all column submissions to Katharine Isbell: College); Takahashi Sachiko (Okayama Notre Dame Seishin Miyazaki International College, 1405 Kano, Kiyotake- Women’s University); Gene van Troyer (Gifu University of cho, Miyazaki-gun 889-1605; t: 0985-85-5931 (w); Education) f: 0985-84-3396 (w); [email protected]; 日本語: [email protected] Peer Support Group Coordinator — Andy Barfield Publishers’ Review Copies Liaison — Angela Ota Foreign Language Center, Univ. of Tsukuba, Tennodai West Park Communication Services, Funakoshi 957-6, 1-1-1, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken 305-0006; Gosen-shi, Niigata 959-1805; t: 0250-41-1104; f: 0250- [email protected] 41-1226; [email protected] 和文要旨作成協力者 — 阿部恵美佳 (Japanese abstracts — Abe Letters — Malcolm Swanson (See Editor) & Koarai Mikiya Emika) 小荒井幹也: t/f: 011-614-5753 (h); [email protected] Production: Proofreaders — Scott Gardner, Aleda Krause, Beverley SIG Reports — Robert Long Elsom Lafaye, Robert Long, Amanda O’Brien, Amy t: 093-883-5022; f: 093-884-3400 (w); Peyton, Steven Snyder, Kinugawa Takao, Ono Masaki, [email protected] Tsukahara Maki Chapter Reports — Diane Pelyk & Nagano Yoshiko Design & Layout — The Word Works Diane Pelyk: Fukumaru Bldg. 10B, 4-2-30 Masaki t: 045-314-9324; f: 045-316-4409; [email protected] Naka-ku, Nagoya 460-0024; t/f: 052-671-8232 Printing — Koshinsha Co., Ltd., Osaka 日本語: [email protected]; JALT Central Office — Urban Edge Bldg. 5F, 1-37-9 Taito, English: [email protected] Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016; t: 03-3837-1630; Chapter Meetings — Tom Merner f: 03-3837-1631; [email protected]
April 2000 TLT Online: langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/pub/tlt 39 Membership Information jalt is a professional organization dedicated to the improvement of language learning and teaching in Japan, a vehicle for the exchange of new ideas and techniques, and a means of keeping abreast of new developments in a rapidly changing field. jalt, formed in 1976, has an international membership of over 3,500. There are currently 38 jalt chapters and 1 affiliate chapter throughout Japan (listed below). It is the Japan affiliate of International tesol (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) and a branch of iatefl (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language). Publications — jalt publishes The Language Teacher, a monthly magazine of articles and announcements on professional concerns; the semi-annual JALT Journal; JALT Conference Proceedings (annual); and JALT Applied Materials (a monograph series). Meetings and Conferences — The JALT International Conference on Language Teaching/Learning attracts some 2,000 participants annually. The program consists of over 300 papers, workshops, colloquia, and poster sessions, a publishers’ exhibition of some 1,000m2, an employment center, and social events. Local chapter meetings are held on a monthly or bi-monthly basis in each jalt chapter, and Special Interest Groups, sigs, disseminate information on areas of special interest. jalt also sponsors special events, such as conferences on testing and other themes. Chapters — Akita, Chiba, Fukui, Fukuoka, Gunma, Hamamatsu, Himeji, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Ibaraki, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanazawa, Kitakyushu, Kobe, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Matsuyama, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Nagoya, Nara, Niigata, Okayama, Okinawa, Omiya, Osaka, Sendai, Shinshu, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Toyohashi, West Tokyo, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yokohama, Gifu (affiliate). SIGs — Bilingualism; College and University Educators; Computer-Assisted Language Learning; Global Issues in Language Education; Japanese as a Second Language; Jr./Sr. High School; Learner Development; Material Writers; Professionalism, Administration, and Leadership in Education; Teacher Education; Teaching Children; Testing and Evaluation; Video; Other Language Educators (affiliate); Foreign Language Literacy (affiliate); Gender Awareness in Language Education (affiliate). jalt members can join as many sigs as they wish for a fee of ¥1,500 per sig. Awards for Research Grants and Development — Awarded annually. Applications must be made to the jalt Research Grants Committee Chair by August 16. Awards are announced at the annual conference. Membership — Regular Membership (¥10,000) includes membership in the nearest chapter. Student Memberships (¥5,000) are available to full-time, undergraduate students with proper identification. Joint Memberships (¥17,000), available to two individuals sharing the same mailing address, receive only one copy of each jalt publication. Group Memberships (¥6,500/person) are available to five or more people employed by the same institution. One copy of each publication is provided for every five members or fraction thereof. Applications may be made at any jalt meeting, by using the postal money transfer form (yubin furikae) found in every issue of The Language Teacher, or by sending an International Postal Money Order (no check surcharge), a check or money order in yen (on a Japanese bank), in dollars (on a U.S. bank), or in pounds (on a U.K. bank) to the Central Office. Joint and Group Members must apply, renew, and pay membership fees together with the other members of their group. Central Office Urban Edge Building, 5th Floor, 1-37-9 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016 tel: 03-3837-1630; fax: 03-3837-1631; [email protected]
JALT（全国語学教育学会）について
JALTは最新の言語理論に基づくよりよい教授法を提供し、日本における語学学習の向上と発展を図ることを目的とする学術団体です。1976年に設立さ れたJALTは、海外も含めて3,500名以上の会員を擁しています。現在日本全国に39の支部（下記参照）を持ち、TESOL（英語教師協会）の加盟団体、お よびIATEFL（国際英語教育学会）の日本支部でもあります。 出版物：JALTは、語学教育の専門分野に関する記事、お知らせを掲載した月刊誌The Language Teacher、年２回発行のJALT Journal、JALT Ap- plied Materials（モノグラフシリーズ)、およびJALT年次大会会報を発行しています。 例会と大会：JALTの語学教育･語学学習に関する国際年次大会には、毎年2,000人が集まります。年次大会のプログラムは300の論文、ワークショップ、 コロキアム、ポスターセッション、出版社による展示、就職情報センター、そして懇親会で構成されています。支部例会は、各JALTの支部で毎月もしく は隔月に１回行われています。分野別研究部会、N-SIGは、分野別の情報の普及活動を行っています。JALTはまた、テスティングや他のテーマについて の研究会などの特別な行事を支援しています。 支部：現在、全国に38の支部と1つの準支部があります。（秋田、千葉、福井、福岡、群馬、浜松、姫路、広島、北海道、茨城、岩手、香川、鹿児島、金 沢、北九州、神戸、熊本、京都、松山、宮崎、長崎、名古屋、奈良、新潟、岡山、沖縄、大宮、大阪、仙台、信州、静岡、栃木、徳島、東京、豊橋、西東 京、山形、山口、横浜、岐阜［準支部］） 分野別研究部会：バイリンガリズム、大学外国語教育、コンピュータ利用語学学習、グローバル問題、日本語教育、中学・高校外国語教育、ビデオ、学習 者ディベロプメント、教材開発、外国語教育政策とプロフェッショナリズム、教師教育、児童教育、試験と評価。 JALT の会員は一つにつき1,500円の会費で、複数の分野別研究会に参加することができます。 研究助成金：研究助成金についての応募は、8月16日までに、JALT語学教育学習研究助成金委員長まで申し出てください。研究助成金については、年次 大会で発表をします。 会員及び会費：個人会員（¥10,000): 最寄りの支部の会費も含まれています。学生会員（¥5,000): 学生証を持つ全日制の学生（専門学校生を含む）が対 象です。共同会員（¥17,000): 住居を共にする個人2名が対象です。但し、JALT出版物は1部だけ送付されます。団体会員(1名¥6,500): 勤務先が同一の 個人が５名以上集まった場合に限られます。JALT出版物は、5名ごとに1部送付されます。入会の申し込みは、The Language Teacher のとじ込みの郵 便振り替え用紙をご利用いただくか、国際郵便為替（不足金がないようにしてください）、小切手、為替を円立て(日本の銀行を利用してください)、ドル 立て(アメリカの銀行を利用してください)、あるいはポンド立て（イギリスの銀行を利用してください)で、本部宛にお送りください。また、例会での申し 込みも随時受け付けています。
JALT事務局: 〒110-0016 東京都台東区台東 1-37-9 アーバンエッジビル５F Tel. 03-3837-1630; fax. 03-3837-1631; [email protected]
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